On the basis of laboratory measured results

dielectric properties of various types of minerals and rocks were summarized in this paper. At microwave band the difference in ε’ of minerals may be as great as two orders of magnitude and ε"

4 orders of magnitude. At low frequency the difference is more obvious. Sulfides show most remarkable variations in ε’ and ε"

followed by oxides. In igneous rocks

either intrusive or extrusive

ε’ and ε" tend to decrease gradually from ulurabasic-basic to intermediate-acidic rocks. Variations in ε’ and ε" of metamorphic and sedimentary rocks are more complicated then those of igneous rocks.Experiments have shown that the structure water in a mineral there is little effect on its dielectric constant. The correlation between ε’ and absorbed water is represented by ε’ = ε0’pεwisw. Differences in ion type

ion radius

ion polarizability may cause regular variations in ε’ and ε". Crystal structure orieutation

coordinate-number of atoms

bond type

density

metamorphic degree

and geological occurrence of a mineral also have great influence on its dielectric properties.Application of dielectric constants to microwave remote sensing were analized. There exists an evident correlativity between the brightness temperature of objects and the greyscale value of the SIR-A image and the complex dielectric constants of rocks or sails （real part ε’ and imaginary ε"）.