The role of fault zones on hydrocarbon migration is the leading edge and weak point of hydrocarbon migration pathway systems. According to the research about internal structure and fluid flow regime of fault zones, this paper performed physical simulation experiments for hydrocarbon episodic migration to study the detailed process and explore rules and controlling factors of hydrocarbon episodic migration along fault zones. The results show that internal structure of fault zones control the pathway and forms of hydrocarbon episodic migration along fault zones, oil saturation also has an influence on the pathway in a certain extent. Fault core is the dominant migration pathway during hydrocarbon episodic migration along fault zones, and prospective traps for hydrocarbon accumulating locate on the relative active side of the fault blocks. The amount of hydrocarbon migrating along fault zones has a logarithmic relationship with time during a single episodic hydrocarbon charging process, which imply that the hydrocarbon episodic migration along fault zones is a nonlinear process. The velocity of hydrocarbon episodic migration along fault zones may be in a constant range, and the order of magnitudes may be 102~103 m/a. The processes of hydrocarbon episodic migration along fault zones contain three different fluid flow mechanisms: ① the nonlinear fluid flow mechanism with a high speed; ② the transitional fluid flow mechanism; and ③ the linear Darcy fluid flow mechanism. The shift of fluid flow mechanisms in fault zones is a complex process which is controlled by the interaction of multi physics fields. Moreover, the forming condition of fault body reservoirs is the equilibrium between driving forces and resistances during hydrocarbon migration along fault zones.