Exploring the benchmarking management of natural gas development is an effective management method to improve the level of natural gas development. The key to the benchmarking of natural gas development is to establish a benchmarking index system. However, there has been no systematic and targeted research on the development levels of domestic petroleum companies and the development indexes of different types of gas reservoirs. In order to promote the upgrading of natural gas development level, this paper selected the benchmarking objects from three levels according to the benchmarking principle, i.e., PetroChina, 6 local companies with greater natural gas production scale of PetroChina and 26 different types of typical gas fields (reservoirs). Then, 24 natural gas development indexes were optimized and a benchmarking index system of natural gas development was established for the first time. Finally, benchmarking analysis was carried out on three levels of PetroChina, local company and important gas fields (reservoirs). And the following research results were obtained. First, the benchmarking index system of natural gas development can reflect the effect and quality of natural gas development directly. And the benchmarking based on this index system can be used to evaluate the level of natural gas development more accurately. Second, due to the limitation of geological condition, development mode and development stage, benchmarking of the same type of gas reservoir shall be carried out under the constraints of the same basin, the same area and the same development stage as far as possible, and thus the benchmarking result can be more valuable. Third, it is necessary for domestic petroleum companies to establish a long-term benchmarking management mechanism, improve the benchmarking index system continuously and promote the upgrading of natural gas development level by emulating the advanced, seeking the gap and improving the weakness. Fourth, the basic data of natural gas development shall be completed continuously to ensure its accuracy so as to avoid the errors in benchmarking results derived from the inaccurate data. Fifth, it is suggested to establish a grading standard of natural gas development level, define the index limit for the development level grading of different types of gas reservoirs and establish a key index standard corresponding to efficient development, so as to provide guidance for further performing the benchmarking of natural gas development.