Due to spontaneous combustion of coal stockpile on surface ground had been a serious problem with the stock quantity and stock time increased, a temperature measuring technology applied to prevent and control the spontaneous combustion of coal stockpile became a necessary means. The paper firstly stated the available direct and indirect coal stockpile temperature measuring methods and principle. Then the paper introduced the common simple temperature measuring device and the composite type temperature measuring equipment of coal stockpile, and analyzed the structural principle, advantages and disadvantages, as well as the application scope. The results showed that a wireless temperature measuring and optical fiber temperature measuring technology would be the research focuses of present temperature measuring for coal stockpile, the precision, complex and automation of the temperature measuring system would be the development tendency, the development of coal stockpile temperature measuring instrument based on new mechanism would be a new development orientation.