The water gas shift reaction is an important and commonly employed reaction in the industry. In the water gas shift reaction, hydrogen is produced from water or steam while carbon monoxide is converted into carbon dioxide. Over the years, on account of the progress in hydrogen energy and carbon capture and storage for developing alternative fuels and mitigating the atmospheric greenhouse effect, the water gas shift reaction has become a crucial route to simultaneously reach the requirements of hydrogen production and carbon dioxide enrichment, thereby enhancing CO₂ capture. This article provides a comprehensive review of the research progress in the water gas shift reaction, with particular attention paid to the thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics. The performance of the water gas shift reaction highly depends on the adopted catalysts whose progress in recent years is extensively reviewed. The behaviors of the water gas shift reaction in special environments are also illustrated, several cases have the ability to proceed with water gas shift reaction without any catalyst. The utilization of several separation technologies on the water gas shift reaction such as carbon capture and storage and membrane reactors for purifying hydrogen and enriching carbon dioxide will be addressed as well. Reviewing past studies suggests that separating hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the product gas from the water gas shift reaction can not only increase efficiency but also enhance the usability for further application. The CO conversion is beyond the thermodynamic limitation after applying membrane for the water gas shift reaction.

水煤气变换反应是工业上重要且常用的反应。在水煤气变换反应中，水或蒸汽产生氢气，而一氧化碳转化为二氧化碳。多年来，由于在开发替代燃料和减轻大气温室效应方面氢能和碳捕集与封存方面的进展，水煤气变换反应已成为同时满足制氢和二氧化碳富集要求的关键途径。从而提高CO ₂捕获。本文对水煤气变换反应的研究进展进行了全面综述，并特别关注了其热力学和动力学特性。水煤气变换反应的性能高度依赖于所采用的催化剂，近年来对其进展进行了广泛的综述。还说明了在特殊环境中水煤气变换反应的行为，几种情况下都可以在没有任何催化剂的情况下进行水煤气变换反应。还将讨论在水煤气变换反应中使用几种分离技术，例如碳捕获和储存以及用于纯化氢和富集二氧化碳的膜反应器。回顾过去的研究表明，从水煤气变换反应中分离出产物气中的氢气和二氧化碳不仅可以提高效率，而且可以提高进一步应用的可用性。在将膜用于水煤气变换反应后，CO转化率超出了热力学极限。