Improper assessment of the penetration rate (PR) of pipe jacking (PJ) may lead to serious schedule delays and cost overruns. In the current practice, PR is estimated on the basis of the experience of practitioners. This has resulted in predicted PR values that are not consistent with the actual ones. A guideline that can be used to reliably predict PR and account for the effects of the significantly controlling factors is not available. This negatively affects the estimated project time and cost. The problems stem from the many factors that affect PR such as the ground conditions, installation depth, machine type, operator experience, and pipe diameter. Little research has been made in this regard. So this research will focus on two main objectives; the first is to identify, categorize and rank the factors that affect PR, and the second is to investigate the common types of ground and PJ machines in Egypt and the Middle East to determine the favorable ground types for PJ machines.