Liu Kouqi is mainly engaged in unconventional shale oil and gas exploration and development. His research fields include reservoir characterization (pore structure and rock mechanics). Over the past five years, he has published more than 50 SCI-indexed papers and co-authored 2 English books. He has led several vertical and horizontal projects. He was named by Stanford University in the world's top 2% of Scientists List in 2022 and 2023. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Composites and Compounds and is a reviewer for the American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund.