Engineering investigation technology and methods are developing in a diversified direction， and relying on small diameter directional drilling and in-hole testing technology has become a new focus in recent years. Directional drilling technology for engineering exploration can be effectively applied to survey and construction under very complex surface environments， advanced geological prediction， geological disaster prevention and control， environmental monitoring and governance， etc. In order to further exploit the technical advantages of directional drilling in engineering exploration and standardize the market， many industry associations or groups have begun to prepare technical regulations or standards related to directional drilling in engineering exploration. The paper systematically summarizes the application scenarios of near-horizontal directional drilling technology in engineering exploration， analyzes and summarizes the technical connotation and key technologies， proposes and discusses the key directions and key technical content that should be paid attention to during the preparation of procedures， makes recommendations in terms of trajectory design， equipment selection， process technology， drilling tool combinations， coring tools， mud systems， directional instruments， in-hole testing， etc.，which has reference significance for the preparation of relevant standards.