Shale oil prepared by pyrolysis of Jordanian oil shale was characterized and compared to petroleum. Results show that shale oil compares well to crude oil and its fractions. For example, 85% of the shale oil sample fractions fall within the range of the light and heavy gas oil fractions. The 50% boiling range temperature of shale oil is 305degrees C, whereas for light and heavy gas oils, they are 270degrees C and 425degrees C, respectively. This indicates that shale oil may be used as a substitute for gas oil or heavy fuel oil. Major disadvantages of shale oil are that it has high aromatics, heavy metals, and sulfur contents of more than 8.3%.