Characteristics and nature of the Meso-Cenozoic great continental spreading basins in China and adjacent regions depend on the relative positions of the allied adjacent oceans. Intracontinental,epicontinental and marginal basins were respectively developed from the inland to the Meso-Cenozoic Tethys coast and Northwest Pacific coast,each having three series. These series are symmetrically arranged in feather-form.The general thrend is that the closer they are to the coasts,the stronger their activity,and the newer their evolutionary generations. The basins were in a spreading state and belonged to geotectonic spreading units possessing orogeny in their devolopment period. They play a decisive role in mould-making of orogenic belt in detailed morphology and become the orogenic “mighty pillar” of mould-making.The Meso-Cenozoic orogeny of China and adjacent regions can be divided into three kinds:orogeny of continental spreading basin,orogeny of oceanic spreading basin and composite orogeny of oceanic-continental basin.
