The Shatskaya underground coal gasification station in the Moscow Basin was operated on a commercial scale from about 1959 to 1976. Although it apparently never achieved more than 70% of its planned gas production, it may have been the most effective of the Soviet UCG stations. Gas losses were 25%, and heating value of the product gas was 800 kcal/m/sup 3/ - figures indicating a successful operation for the thin coal seams involved (2 to 4 m thick). Initial estimates showed a coal deposit sufficient to operate the Shatskaya station for 70 years. Nevertheless, it was closed down after only about 17 years of operation, probably for economic reasons. This report draws on the limited information available in the literature to describe the Shatskaya station and its operating history.