An analysis was first made of the chemical environment at near field of deep geological repository. Then, the recent progresses in studies related to the chemical behavior of the compacted bentonite were summarized from four aspects including the effects of chemical conditions on the swelling pressure; the effects of chemical conditions on the permeability; the chemistry induced volume change behavior; and the model studies. Finally, the major problems in current studies were pointed out and some hot topics in this field were proposed to study in the future.