石冰川是含冰的舌状或叶状多年冻结地质体，广泛分布于全球范围内的高海拔和高纬度冰缘区，是多年冻土边界的重要代用指标。活动型石冰川沿山谷/坡向下缓慢蠕动，其活动性在全球变暖背景下逐渐增强，成为一种日益重要的寒区地质灾害。此外，石冰川内部含有大量冰体，是干旱与半干旱地区一种重要的淡水资源。基于国内外研究进展，将石冰川分为倒石堆型、岩屑覆盖型、冰碛型、昆仑山型，并分别讨论了不同类型石冰川的形成机制。石冰川的运动主要由多年冻土蠕变、冻胀融沉、整体前进，以及岩屑与冰的补给等过程组成，其时空变化主要受到气候条件、地形环境、内部结构，以及外力作用等多种因素的共同影响。石冰川对全球变暖的响应主要表现为地温增加引起的局部区域运动加速或失稳以及多年冻土融化导致的石冰川失活。在冰川退缩及季节性积雪持续时间缩短背景下，冰碛型石冰川表面的岩屑覆盖层作为保温隔热层，可以保护下伏冰体减缓融化，延缓和降低石冰川对气候变化的响应，成为干旱与半干旱地区一种日益重要的水资源。我国目前已有超过13 511条石冰川纳入编目，总面积超过945.51 km²，但仍然十分缺乏系统性的石冰川编目及长期的现场监测和模型研究。

Rock glaciers are lobate or tongue-shaped bodies of frozen debris， which are important substitute index of permafrost boundary and widely distributed in high altitude and high latitude periglacial areas around the world. Active rock glaciers are typically moving downslope or downvalley slowly， but the climate change may cause significant increase of rock glaciers， resulting in serious geological disasters in cold regions. In addition， rock glaciers might consist of massive ice which could be important freshwater resource in arid and semi-arid areas. Based on the literature review， rock glaciers are divided into talus-derived， glacier-derived， ice cored， Kunlun Mountain type， and the formation mechanisms of different types of rock glaciers are discussed respectively. The movement of rock glacier may develop from permafrost creep， frost heave and thaw settlement， debris supply， and new ground ice formation， among others. The variation of rock glacier movement characteristics on the spatio-temporal scale is mainly affected by climatic conditions， topographic environment， internal structure， external forces， among others. The response of rock glaciers to global warming will lead to two opposite results： the acceleration or instability caused by the increase of ground temperature and the deactivation of rock glaciers caused by permafrost melting. In the context of continuous retreat of glaciers and the shortening of the duration of seasonal snow， the debris cover as a thermal insulation layer can protect the underlying ice bodies from melting， delay and reduce the response of rock glacier to climate change， thus rock glacier will become an increasingly important water resource in arid and semi-arid areas. At present， more than 13 511 rock glaciers with more than 945.51 km² of total area have been inventoried in China， but there is still a significant lack of systematic rock glacier inventory and long-term on-site monitoring and model research.