A critical evaluation has been made of existing knowledge of certain fundamental properties of oil shale from the Paraiba Valley, Brazil. On the whole, the data from the various sources are reasonably consistent, although there are one or two important discrepancies as noted in the discussion. For convenience, the subject has been considered under the following headings: Analyses of Paraiba Shale, Composition of Kerogen from Paraiba Shale, Kerogen Content of Paraiba Shale, Heating Value of Paraiba Shale and Composition of Mineral Matter.