Some examples are given of the use of solid state 13C NMR techniques to study oil shales. These include the use of 13C NMR for oil shale resource evaluation and for oil shale thermal decomposition. In addition, the use of 13C NMR for evaluating petroleum source rock potential illustrated. NMR measurements of the fraction of aliphatic carbon in an oil shale are shown to correlate with the fraction of carbon converted to oil upon Fischer assay. Similar measurements on oil shales as a function of depth of burial can be used to assess the thermal maturation of the source rock. Interrupted decoupling experiments have been conducted on oil shales heated to various temperatures. The results of these measurements are discussed.