Abstract: In the context of China’s mineral resource exploitation and underground space development moving towards greater depths, vertical shaft construction is confronted with harsh conditions such as high earth pressure, high ground stress, high water pressure, rapid groundwater flow, and poor rock properties. This urgently demands breakthroughs in shaft sinking technological bottlenecks. By summarizing historical experiences, this paper identifies the freezing method as the predominant technique for groundwater sealing and strata reinforcement in deep shaft construction under complex conditions. It reviews the state of frozen shaft sinking technology in China and abroad prior to 2002, outlines major breakthroughs and applications of artificial ground freezing (AGF) technology in China from 2002 to 2022 for vertical shafts in deep soil layers (400−800 m) and water-rich rock strata (500−1 000 m), and synthesizes advancements in key areas including: physical simulation equipment for shaft sinking by freezing method , experimental systems and methods for deep artificial frozen soils, mechanics of deep artificial frozen soils, the mechanical properties of frozen rock, refrigeration technology and equipment for ground freezing, ultra-deep freeze hole construction technology and equipment, temperature field variation laws of multi-ring pipe freezing, deformation laws of frozen soil wall in deep soil layers, the design theories for freezing wall thickness in deep soil/water-rich rock strata, new mechanisms and prevention strategies for freezing pipe fractures, process innovations (e.g., zoned asynchronous freezing, controlled zoned freezing, localized freezing), freeze hole sealing techniques in deep rock strata, combined freezing technology for shafts and adjacent chambers. To address challenges in applying AGF to ultra-deep soil layers (1 500 m) and water-rich rock strata (3 000 m), the paper highlights critical research priorities: −80 °C cryogenic refrigeration systems with compatible materials/equipment, mechanical behavior of deep cryogenic frozen soils and frozen soil walls, design methodologies for deep cryogenic frozen soil walls, high-precision ultra-deep directional freezing hole technology, novel techniques for forming/maintaining freezing walls in ultra-deep shafts.