Air reverse circulation sampling drilling technology has not been widely used in mineral exploration for a long time due to the low recognition of rock samples by domestic geologists. In view of the test of air reverse circulation drilling technology in Beiya Gold Mine， Heqing， Yunnan Province， this paper puts forward some findings through comparative analysis of the geological effect in mineral exploration. This paper defines the purpose and contents of the demonstration application test of air reverse circulation sampling technology and conventional core drilling technology； introduces the basis for test hole selection； and compares and analyzes the geological effect of the RC sampling method and the conventional core drilling method in gold exploration from seven aspects： rock sample collection and sampling method， rock sample recovery， missing of strata and ore beds， lithology and primary structure of the sampled strata， accuracy of rock occurrence calculation， core pollution degree， and accuracy of ore grade calculation. The study reveals that the RC sampling method has high efficiency and low cost； and it is superior to conventional core drilling in terms of rock sample representativeness， core pollution and ore grade. Finally， some problems in the application of RC technology in mineral exploration are further pointed out， and the relevant suggestions are put forward.