Abstract: Rapeseed is a main oil crop worldwide and has become the third most important source of plant oil. It accounts for a considerable proportion of the cultivated oleiferous plants. An estimated 1% of oil content increase in rapeseed is equivalent to a 2.5% increase in seed yield in terms of the contribution to oil yield. The oil content of rapeseed varieties developed in China is lower than that of varieties developed in industrial countries, by 2%-5%, on average. Thus, elevating the oil content in rapeseed has become a main objective in breeding new rapeseed varieties with high production efficiency. This article reviews the current status of lipid research into rapeseed, including the genetic basis of oil accumulation, the synthetic pathway of lipids, analysis of quantitative trait loci of oil content, genetic correlation between oil content and other important quality traits, and prospects for oil content research in rapeseed.