The educational guide is devoted to the advanced investigatition techniques of organic matter, oils and gases which are widely used in a world scientific practice at an assessment of hydrocarbon potential of the sedimentary rocks, studying of conditions and the mechanism of generation, migration, formation and preservation of the hydrocar bon fields and development of criteria of their searches. In the first part of the guide the description of theoretical bases of each method, its value and solved problems is given. In the second part examples of application of these methods for studying of hydrocarbon systems of the South-Caspian basin are given. The well illustrated guide is recommended to students, doctorants, teachers and the experts engaged in area of geology and geochemistry of oil and gas.