This paper expounds tile latest advance of research on continental margin evolution and discusses the model of pure shearing and simple shearing on continental lithosphere extension and new conceptions of paired passive continental margin.

They were continental rift and passive continental margin basins formed as a result of the break-up of Gondwana and the spreading of Atlantic Ocean.

Hengdan Turbidite terrane:Fillings in a Late Paleozoic forearc basin developed on the passive margin of the Yangtze plate;

The plate activity is weaker in the passive continental margin of the northern South China Sea,which is favorable for forming the large-scale gas field and gas hydrate reservoirs.

The passive continental margin of West Africa is becoming an attractive area for hydrocarbon exploration,and it experienced four tectonic stages,i.

Concerning with the complicated tectonic background of the passive continental margin of Northern South China Sea,this paper discusses the set-up procedure of the geological-physical model based on the integrated geophysical interpretation of the typical profiles in the area.