Continental Shelf Drilling Program (CSDP) is a scientific plan for deep stratigraphic sequence drilling on the continental shelf of China. This plan is initially defined as the Earth Science Discovery Program between Continental Scientific Drilling (ICDP) and Ocean Scientific Drilling (DSDP, ODP, IODP). So far, two wells have been completed in the South Yellow Sea. The main target of well CSDP-1 is the Quaternary and its environmental evolution, while well CSDP-2 is aimed at the Mesozoic and Paleozoic marine strata and its resource and environmental effects. The scientific objectives of well CSDP-2 are 1) to reveal stratigraphic sequences, sedimentary environment and tectonic evolution of the Mesozoic-Paleozoic in the South Yellow Sea; 2) to calibrate the geophysical properties of the strata; 3) to evaluate the hydrocarbon system; and 4) to conduct long-term in-hole geophysical observations. The depth of CSDP-2 well is 2 843.18 m, the deepest record of core drilling projects in the continental shelf. The core recovery rate is 97.3%, of which the Mesozoic-Paleozoic stratum is 2 198.10 m with a core recovery rate of 99.7%. CSDP-2 borehole has drilled Quaternary-Neogene, Lower Triassic Qinglong Formation, Permian Dalong Formation, Longtan Formation, Gufeng Formation and Qixia Formation, Carboniferous Chuanshan Formation, Huanglong Formation and Gaolishan Formation, Devonian Wutong Formation, Silurian Fentou Formation and Gaojiabian Formation. The stratigraphic framework, geophysical property profile, sedimentary sequences and ages were calibrated and preliminarily established. Two unconformities developed in Indosinian and Caledonian periods, and the detachment zone between Longtan Formation and Gufeng Formation was discerned. Four sets of good source rocks indicate the oil and gas exploration potential in this area.

In 2014,the Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CSDP) decided to adopt the self-developed portable offshore drilling platform "Tanhai 1" to deploy the first exploratory cored hole (Well:CSDP-2) in the central uplift of South Yellow Sea basin. The goal of the project is to probe the Mesozoic-Paleozoic geological structure, oil and gas geological conditions, so as to solve the long-standing stratigraphic problems of marine residual basin in the central uplift of South Yellow Sea,and to provide basic data of the regional geology,sea and land evolution and prospects of marine oil and gas at the same time. Accordingly,we determined the location principle of well CSDP-2 as follows:based on safety and equipment suitability,the water depth of drilling should be no more than 30m, the igneous rock and other special geological bodies should be avoided in the predetermined 2800m drilling depth,and within this depth range,several complete sets of Mesozoic-Paleozoic marine strata should be drilled through. Based on the drilling target and the principle of well location, and under the situation of no drilling data in the central uplift, we designed the technique flow and carried out the research. The seismic reflection horizons were demarcated by means of multi-attribute interpretation of seismic data, the structural maps of reflection horizons were interpreted and compiled, drilling wells were drawn up, the drilling horizons were predicted, and the favorable reservoirs were predicted by seismic reservoir prediction technology. Through the above work, the technical flow and method of drilling well location in non-well exploration area have been formed. The drilling results confirmed the Triassic-Ordovician marine sediments,and found many oil and gas layers.

The Mesozoic and Paleozoic marine oil and gas have broad oil and gas prospects in South Yellow Sea, and are important strategic replacement bases for oil and gas. Due to the transformation of multi period tectonic movement, the original basin was destroyed severely. The geological structure is complex, the precision of geophysical prospecting is low, the structure and formation are unavailable, and the oil and gas distribution is unknown. In view of the main problems faced in the exploration, the main strategy we suggested is to focus on the research of geophysical exploration technology innovation and test work, and then to improve the applicability and effectiveness of the method and technology; under the guidance of the geotectonic theory to carry out the research works for hydrocarbon source rock,reservoir and oil gas preservation conditions based on the background of multi-period tectonic movement; to implement scientific drilling in local structural areas where the regional petroleum geological conditions are superior and the characteristics of strata and lithology are controversial.

To meet the demand of marine origin oil-gas exploration in the South Yellow Sea basin, the authors systematically analyzed and compared the palaeo-geographic setting and sedimentary filling characteristics of Early Silurian between the South Yellow Sea basin and the land area in the Lower Yangtze plate based on the geological data of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui regions and the cores of well-2,then summarized the characteristics of the Lower Silurian hydrocarbon source rocks,and further discussed their main controlling factors in the South Yellow Sea basin. The results showed that two sets of source rocks of the Fentou Formation and the upper part of the Gaojiabian Formation were drilled in the well CSDP-2, which are thick, dark and silty mudstone with low abundance type Ⅱ₂ organic matter, and all of them are at over-maturity stage. Controlled by the development stage of global transgression and the tectonic activity of the Yangtze plate, the Early Silurian sedimentary environment in the lower Yangtze region gradually changed from initial deep water shelf to shallow water shelf. In addition, under the influence of the early high primary productivity and good preservation condition, the source rock quality in the lower part of the Gaojiabian Formation is obviously better than that in its upper part, and the abundance of organic matter in the black graptolite shale in the bottom section is the highest. Therefore, we believe that there should be a set of high quality hydrocarbon source rocks at the bottom of the Gaojiabian Formation in the South Yellow Sea basin, which can serve as the next key layer for shale gas exploration.

The Well CSDP-2 of continental shelf drilling program is the only deep well in the central uplift of South Yellow Sea at present, so it has reference value for revealing the Mesozoic-Paleozoic marine stratigraphic epoch and restoring the depositional environment and tectonic movement. Based on the core description and thin-section examination of the rocks,combined with logs and fossils,the Silurian-Carboniferous strata are divided into Lower Silurian Gaojiabian,Houjiatang-and Fentou Forma-tions;Upper Devonian Wutong Formation;Lower Carboniferous Gaolishan-and Hezhou Formations;Upper Carboniferous Huanglong and Chuanshan Formations. Among them,a set of shallow-sea shelf facies with fine clastic rocks were deposited in Silurian. The Devonian Wutong is characterized by the coexistence of stable quartz sandstone and purple red mudstone,with lower tidal flat facies and upper delta facies. Carboniferous is dominated by bioclastic limestone and muddy limestone,mainly developed in platform,lagoon and grain-beach subfacies of carbonate platform. The regional stratigraphic correlation shows that the lithologic sequence of Silurian-Carboniferous is basically consistent with that of the Lower Yangtze land area,indicating that the Mesozoic-Paleozoic marine strata in the South Yellow Sea basin were the extension of the Lower Yangtze platform from land to sea.

A fern-like plant is identified at 2 068.00-2 069.02 m in the borehole of the Well CSDP-2 of South Yellow Sea which belongs to the Upper Devonian Leigutai Member of Wutung Formation. The plant consists of at least three-time pinnate compound leaves,the secondary rachises are alternately attached, and the ultimate pinnule is planar and fan or wedged shaped with a contracting basal part. The pinna has at least one deep lobe with blunt margins and has conspicuous bifurcate veins. Accordingly, the plant is classified to Shougangia cf. S. bella. The study adds new palaeobotanical data for the Upper Devonian Wutung Formation in South Yellow Sea.

Through testing the geochemical elements S, Sr and Ba in the strata from the Late Pliocene to Quaternary in the Core CSDP-1 in the west shelf of South Yellow Sea, combined with the published lithological, magnetic stratigraphic and paleontological data, the authors found that the distribution and variation characteristics of these elements S, Sr, Ba and their ratio Sr/Ba in different sedimentary facies are closely related to the sedimentary environment changes in the study area, which reflects the pro-marine feature of S and Sr/Ba ratio. The high value of S element mainly occurs in marine sedimentary environment, corresponding to the transgressions since 3.50 Ma in this area, which indicates the sea and land environment of the core site. The high value of Sr/Ba ratio in U2 sedimentary unit (1.66-0.83 Ma) is not related to transgression, but is mainly controlled by the change of material source, which leads to the changes of the sedimentary mineral composition; while in the U1 sedimentary units (since 0.83 Ma),the Sr/Ba ratio indicates the change of the sea-land environment, showing that transgression has become the main control factor of the Sr/Ba ratio since 0.83 Ma.

South Yellow Sea is the part of the eastern shelf sea,and its sediments record the information of the sources, the climate and the paleo-environmental evolution. The detrital zircon U-Pb dating of the Core CSDP-1 in the western South Yellow Sea was determined by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). The results show that the zircon age distribution of the Core CSDP-1 sediment mainly falls into five groups:300-100, 500-300,1 000-700,2 100-1 700 and 2 600-2 300 Ma. From the bottom to the top, the zircon contents in the sediments do not vary greatly except in the age groups of 1 000-700 Ma and 2 100-1 700 Ma; The Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Old Yellow River and the Huaihe River are the possible sources of the drilling area. The detrital zircon U-Pb age distribution in sediments is significantly different, among which the Yangtze River sediments are characterized by 1 000-700 Ma zircons,and the content of 2 100-1 700 Ma zircon in the Yellow River sediments is the highest. The content of 500-300 Ma zircons from the Old Yellow River and the Huaihe River sediments are higher than that in the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Combined with the Core CSDP-1 and the river sediments,it can be concluded that the core site has been contributed by multi-source materials since 3.20 Ma. The Yangtze River is the dominant source, followed by the Huaihe River. However, the Huaihe River didn't affected the core area until 2.16 Ma. The material of the Yellow River started to be found in the drilling area at about 0.78 Ma; and since then,the Yellow River has been the main material source of the core site. The Old Yellow River had almost no effect on the drilling area.

The South Yellow Sea basin is a multi-cycle basin with a sandwich-type construction on the pre-Sinian metamorphic basement of the lower Yangtze platform. The geologic evolution of the basin can be divided into three stages:the Sinian-Early Triassic marine basin, the Cretaceous-Paleogene graben fault basin and the Neogene-Quaternary depression basin stages. There are still a lot of debates on the stratigraphic framework and distribution characteristics of multistage basins, basin deformation and dynamics mechanism, basin property and genetic mechanism at present. In this paper, some problems about strata and tectonics in South Yellow Sea are discussed based on geological-geophysical data obtained in recent years,combined with the previous research. The comprehensive research shows that:There is no Indo-Early Yanshanian foreland basin under the fault depression basin since Late Yanshanian in the northern basin of South Yellow Sea. There is indeed a fault zone in the western edge of the Korean Peninsula. In the collision between the Yangtze block and the North China block, there were many multi-layer interwedging structures formed in the crust. The Mesozoic-Paleozoic marine strata are widely distributed in the South Yellow Sea and denuded eastward,and maybe only the lower Paleozoic remains. The whole Lower Triassic-Sinian strata remain in the Central Uplift.

In order to identify the eastern extension boundary of Haiyang sag to the South Yellow Sea (SYS), a deep seismic profile OBS2013-SYS was measured across the basin. 2D velocity structure modeling revealed a sudden increase of the seismic travel time in the OBSs(ocean-bottom seismometer)located in the Qianliyan uplift in the NW of the OBS profile. The velocity model shows that the sediments with low seismic velocity are obviously thickened in the offshore of Haiyang sag in the east of Jiaolai basin. From the station of OBS06 to the northwest, the sedimentary thicknesses markedly increase from less than 1.0 km to about 2.5 km:we speculated that it is the eastern boundary fault of Haiyang sag of Jiaolai basin. Combining with the analysis of the basin-controlling faults identified in Haiyang sag, we determined the general structure boundary and sedimentary center of Haiyang sag. We suggest that the eastern basin-controlling fault of Jiaolai basin may extend to the Lianyungang-Shidao fracture zone, which forms part of the north and the south boundary fault zone of the Qianliyan uplift with the Jiashan-Xiangshui-Qianliyan fault. The subsidence center of Haiyang sag may be located in the NE direction of Haiyang sag on the north side of the Lianyungang-Shidao fault in the South Yellow Sea area, and the developed thick Cretaceous may have good oil and gas prospect.

The latest exploration and research confirm that there are two sets of effective source rocks developed in the Middle and Upper Jurassic of the eastern sag in the North Yellow Sea basin, and the Upper Jurassic exists as the main source rock for oil & gas accumulation. Within the range of hydrocarbon supply, two patterns of oil & gas reservoir-forming assemblages, i.e., "lower generation and upper accumulation" in the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous and "self-generation and self-accumulation" in the Middle-Upper Jurassic, have been formed in this area, where the exploration breakthrough of petroliferous basins has been made with Jurassic as the only source rock in the eastern sea area of China. In order to further explore the resource potential and exploration prospects of the remaining "black Jurassic" in China's offshore basins, the authors analyzed their distribution characteristics and geochemical characteristics comprehensively based on seismic-geological interpretation, geochemical analysis and basin modeling. The results show that the residual Jurassic dark mudstone source rocks in China offshore are highly heterogeneous, most of them belong to medium grade source rocks, and some are "medium-good" and some are "medium-poor". The dark Jurassic source rocks in the offshore of China had two periods of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion, Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous and Eocene to Late Miocene, with total amount of hydrocarbon generation of 1.4×10¹¹t. This provides a sufficient material basis for the formation of source-reservoir combinations including Jurassic "self-generation and self-accumulation" and Jurassic-Cretaceous (or Cenozoic) "lower generation and upper accumulation" in eastern sea basins of China, and has important practical and scientific significance for oil and gas exploration of residual "black Jurassic" in offshore basins of China.

Based on the comprehensive study of sedimentary facies, the authors clarified the sedimentary characteristics of Mesozoic in the southern part of the East China Sea Shelf basin by means of seismic facies analysis. After the unit analysis of paleo-geographic setting,the sedimentary model of Jurassic and Cretaceous in this area is established. In Jurassic, neither Yandang low uplift nor Oujiang pit was formed, and the Minjiang pit and the Keelung pit were integrated. During the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene, with the increase of the subduction angle of the Pacific plate, the Zhejiang-Fujian uplift area was destroyed, forming the Yandang low uplift, and a continental alluvial fan fluvial River delta lake depositional system was deposited in the Oujiang pit in western China. Because the Taipei low uplift had not yet played the role of segmentation, the Minjiang pit in the East and the Keelung pit were still connected, the source came from the Zhejiang-Fujian uplift zone and the Taipei underwater volcanic rock zone. The coastal shallow sea depositional system was developed, and the volcanism had a strong influence.

The East China Sea Shelf basin is located on the southeastern edge of the Eurasian plate. Its tectonic evolution and dynamic mechanism transformation are related to the collision between the Pacific plate and the Eurasian plate and the remote push effect of the Indian-Australian plate. Since Mesozoic, the basin formation and evolution process has been superimposed by multi-period subduction and multi-tectonic systems of the Paleo-Pacific plate. The geological structure and geophysical field are complex, and the basin evolution and dynamic process has been the debate focus. Based on the latest survey data, the authors mainly studied the Mesozoic basin evolution in the southern shelf basin of the East China Sea by means of regional tectonic-sedimentary setting analysis, structural physical simulation experiments and recovery technology of balanced geological profiles, and discussed the dynamics transition process of the southern shelf basin of the East China Sea. Our data suggests that the southern shelf basin of the East China Sea has experienced 1) pre-Late Triassic passive continental margins and Late Triassic-Middle Jurassic active continental margin squeeze-depression, the extrusive stress originated from the low-angle subduction of the Izanagi plate to the Eurasian plate; 2) the Late Early Cretaceous-Late Cretaceous active continental marginal faulted basin, whose stress originated from the lithospheric thinning and paleo-environment resulting from the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate into the Eurasian plate; and 3) the Paleogene back-arc extension faulted-depression. It is also suggested that the transition time from the EW-trending Paleo-Tethys tectonic system to the NE-trending Paleo-Pacific tectonic system in the East China Sea Shelf occurred in the end of Middle Triassic. The low-angle subduction and withdrawal subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate represents the Mesozoic deep geological process in the East China Sea Shelf.

The GH-1 profile through the Well XH-1 revealed the structural changes of basin edge during the Cenozoic basin evolution of the eastern Xihu sag in the East China Sea shelf basin. On the basis of combing with the standpoints of previous research on basin prototype, and reviewing the continuously eastward expansion super points of T₂⁵, T₂⁴ and T₂³, the evolution characteristics of leapfrog and cyclic development for continental basins are confirmed. Referring to the two tectonic inversions of T₂⁴ and T₂⁰, two second-order tectonic sequences are recognized in the intracontinental migration depression period as Oligocene and Miocene(Longjing Formation and Yuquan Formation). Based on the genetic mechanism of Liulang Formation, the attribution of Liulang Formation in the basin development history is discussed. Through the mechanism discussion of the Yuquan, Huagang and Longjing movements and confirmation of their interfaces, the understanding of the east basin edge in fault depression during depression period is deepened:Xihu sag experienced the iterative development of the archetypal basin from strive slip tensional depression to conversion edge depression in Paleocene-Eocene,intracontinental migration depression in Oligocene-Miocene, and retro-arc continental shelf margin depression in Pliocene-Quaternary.

The Zhejiang-Fujian mud area has been the sink of sediments since the formation of Holocene high sea level. Under the influence of the East Asian monsoon, the variation of Zhejiang-Fujian Coastal Current and Taiwan Warm Current is characterized by seasonality, the sediment transport pattern "trapped in summer and transported in winter" in the Yangtze River mouth plays a key role in the formation of the East China Sea inner-shelf mud area. The potential sources of the Zhejiang-Fujian mud area are the Yangtze River, Zhejiang-Fujian rivers and western Taiwan mountain rivers, and the Yangtze River materials are the main source. Through the analysis on clay minerals, rare earth elements, SrNd isotopes and environmental magnetism, the Yangtze River is dominated by illite, followed by kaolinite and chlorite, with less smectite. In the rivers of western Taiwan, illite and chlorite are the main clay materials, with no smectite. Pyrrhotite is a unique magnetic mineral of Taiwan river sediments, and can be used as an indicator of the source identification of sediments from rivers in mainland or Taiwan. The mud area is located in the East Asian monsoon region. Under the combined influence of the tropical processes in the low latitude and high latitude atmospheric circulation, the climate change is fluctuating. The changes in the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) reflected in sediment-sensitive grain size only record the climate changes since the formation of the muddy area, and cannot represent the entire Holocene. Influenced by the Taiwan Warm Current and Zhejiang-Fujian Coastal Current, the sensitive grain size needs to be further studied as an indicator of EAWM evolution.

The coastal zone is a transitional area between sea and land. The study of the spatial and temporal evolution of coastline is of great significance for the development and protection of coastal resources. However, there are few studies on the spatial and temporal evolution of Sansha Bay coastline at home and abroad. Based on the satellite remote sensing data in the past 25 a, the authors interpreted the four-phase Sansha Bay coastline, quantitatively analyzed the trend of coastline change, and studied the main factors of the coastline evolution. The study shows that the total length of Sansha Bay coastline increased in the past 25 a:from 1988 to 1996, the total length of the shoreline didn't change much. In 2003, the total length of the shoreline increased by about 6 947 m,11.5% compared to 1996. In the period of 2003-2013, the total length of the shoreline increased significantly. In 2013, the total length of the shoreline increased by about 24 128 m,39.6% compared to 2003, and the growth rate is about 3.4 times that of 1996-2003. The length of the sandy shoreline is basically stable, and the length of the bedrock and mud shoreline is reduced, while the artificial coastline is increasing year by year mainly caused by the factors such as the reclamation of beach land, the construction of the port, and the transformation of the coastal man workers.

South China Sea (SCS) is in a complex geological tectonic environment, and the neotectonic movement is active during the post-expansion period. The time of neotectonic movement and the movement characteristics are different in the different areas. In this study, the starting time of the neotectonic movement in SCS is considered to be in the middle of Miocene (about 15 Ma) through integrating the tectonic evolution events, current tectonic patterns and the features of the neotectonic movement. With further collection and organization of the geological and geophysical data, the neotectonic movements, including stratigraphic differences, active tectonics, seismicity and magmatic activity, were systematically studied and explored. According to the manifestation and imbalance in spatial distribution of the new tectonic movement, SCS and the adjacent areas are divided into one strong tectonic active zone, three moderate-strong tectonic active zones and one weak tectonic active zone. Combined with the analysis of the stress field characteristics, the neotectonic movement was mainly controlled by the continuous subduction-collision of the Philippine plate and Pacific plate on the continental margin of East Asia.

The Parece Vela basin in Western Pacific Ocean is the largest of the numerous back-arc basins in the Izu-Ogasawara-Mariana trench-arc-basin system. It is characterized by obviously asymmetric development shown by regional geological and geophysical data. However, for a long time, the causes of its asymmetry have not been systematically studies. In this paper, the asymmetric geological characteristics in the Parece Vela basin are summarized in depth, including the asymmetries of geometry, topography, sedimentary characteristics and geophysical features between the eastern and western sides of the basin, the lack of the eastern wing and the curved structure in the west wing of the southern tip of the basin. Combined with the regional plate movement mechanism in this area, we believe that the asymmetric development of the basin were mainly caused by the tectonic development background and the differences of the tectonic activities and sedimentary environments on both sides of the basin. In the southern tip of the basin, the lack of the eastern wing and the curved structure in the west wing were mainly affected by the occurrence of subduction of the Calorine plate in the east, especially the Calorine ridge.

Based on drill and seismic data, taking "environments control source rocks" as a breakthrough point,we analyzed the conditions for the formation of high-quality source rocks in North Sag in regard with the relationship between sedimentary environment and source rock development, combined with sedimentary facies, trace element characteristics and biomarker compound characteristics. At the same time, in view of the distribution and geochemical characteristics of this set of hydrocarbon source rocks, we discussed the resource potential of the Taizhou Formation source rocks of North Sag. The results show that the source rocks were developed in the deep-and semi-deep lacustrine facies under the saline water background, which is favorable for the preservation of organic matter and the formation of source rocks. The source rocks of Taizhou Formation in North Sag are widely distributed in large thickness, high organic abundance and high maturity, and have great hydrocarbon generating potential. Through basin simulation calculation, the hydrocarbon amount in North Sag is 112.18 million tons; with an accumulation coefficient of 1%-5%, the resource potential of North Sag is 1.12-5.60 million tons, a large amount of resources.

With the development of petroleum exploration, the importance of lithologic reservoir is becoming more and more obvious. The key to lithologic reservoir exploration is to clarify the enrichment law of hydrocarbon. A large number of lithologic reservoirs are developed in the middle third Member of Shahejie Formation in Niuzhuang sub-sag. In this study, the authors focused on the analysis of the main controlling factors on the horizontal accumulation. The results show that the distribution of oil and gas reservoirs in Niuzhuang sub-sag is controlled by three geological factors:fluid property, faults and sedimentary facies in the sub-sag. Their effects on the enrichment of lithologic reservoirs in the sub-sag are:1) the fluid migration and accumulation units control the enrichment zone of oil and gas in the plane, i.e., the north-south confluence units is favorable for petroleum accumulation, while the parallel of the north and the divergence flow units in the east and west area of the sub-sag are unfavorable; 2) the pump-absorb action of syngenetic fault makes it possible for oil and gas to form local convergent flow in the parallel or the divergence flow units developing area, thus reservoir develops; the lateral shelter action of fault makes oil and gas accumulate in the inner side of the boundary fault; 3) in all the sedimentary facies, turbidite channels with good storage quality are the best for hydrocarbon accumulation, lobe and the middle channels are the second, and peripheral areas are the worst.

The shale in sea-land transitional facies of Permian Leping Formation is developed in the Lower Yangtze region. Based on the investigation of structure and sedimentary background in this area through some experiment measures, we analyzed the organic geochemical characteristics, rock and mineral characteristics, physical conditions and storage space types of cores, and then discussed the main sedimentary and structural factors affecting gas content of shale. The research results show that the shale thickness of Permian Leping Formation in Fengcheng-Leping area is very different and heterogeneous; The Wangpanli and Lower Laoshan Subsections are good hydrocarbon source rocks, and the Upper and Middle Laoshan Subsections are medium hydrocarbon source rocks; the main organic matter type of shales is Ⅱ₂, which is the main gas source in the west area, the maturity of organic matter is characterized by "low in the east and high in the west"; the micro-pores and micro-cracks are the main pore spaces; the whole physical property is ultra-low porosity and low permeability. The Permian sea-land transitional environment in the study area provided the basis for the development of hydrocarbon source rocks; the moderate burial depth guarantees the high content of shale gas and low production cost; the complicated structure and intense deformation in the eastern area is not conducive to the preservation of shale gas; the structure of western area is stable, and has a good prospect for gas exploration.

With the discovery of more and more polymetallic nodule mineralization zones in the South China Sea (SCS) in recent years, the researches of marine polymetallic nodules in this area have become deeper. The SCS marginal-sea polymetallic nodules have their own unique characteristics, which are very different from those in the oceanic environment. Based on the comparative analysis of the previous research results, the authors studied the metallogenetic characteristics of the SCS polymetallic nodules, and provided theoretical guidance for the evaluation of the SCS submarine polymetallic mineral resources. The results show that the mineral composition of the SCS marginal nodules is basically similar to that of oceanic nodules, mainly composed of Mn-and Fe-phase minerals, but the SCS nodules contain a large amount of silicate minerals, indicating that they are greatly affected by terrestrial detrital minerals. Compared to the oceanic nodules in the main economic mineralization zones, the content of the main economic elements such as Mn, Cu, Co, Ni and Zn in the SCS nodules are relatively low, while the contents of terrestrial-derived elements such as Fe, Ti, P, Nb, Pb, Rb, Sc, Ta, Sr, Th and REY (REE and Y) are relatively high. The elemental geochemical characteristics and REE shale-normalized patterns of the SCS polymetallic nodules show that they are of hydrogenetic origin with lower Mn/Fe ratios, high average growth rate, and relatively higher positive δCe anomalies, indicating that the SCS nodules grew in more oxidizing seawater environment. Although the high sediment accumulation rate and turbulent seawater environment affect the mineralization of the SCS nodules, the entry of a large number of terrestrial material provides a rich source of metallogenetic material for the rapid growth of nodules. The SCS marginal polymetallic nodules are rich in a variety of economic metal elements, and can be used as potential marine mineral resources.