Abstract: Underground pipelines are important components of lifeline engineering, and they undertake important tasks such as supplying water, gas, and heating, etc. Once they are damaged in the earthquake, the normal life of residents and the recovery of the city after the disaster will be affected seriously. As the countries with the strongest earthquake resistance, China, Japan and America have their own characteristics in the seismic design of underground pipelines. However, the existing studies about the seismic guidelines of the three countries only focus on the seismic design principles of underground pipelines or only focus on the comparison of seismic design of building structures. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis and comparison for the seismic design of underground pipelines are conducted in this study. Meanwhile, how to transform the seismic design parameters from one country to another is discussed. Finally, this study uses two examples to show the feasibility of the study.