Abstract:The low-temperature thermochronological technique was used to study the uplift and denudation history of the Yanshan orogenic zone and its neighboring area, which has revealed distinct periods of accelerated crustal cooling since the late Mesozoic. The results show that the fission track ages range from 115 Ma to 50 Ma (zircon) and from 85 Ma to 6 Ma (apatite), with the apatite mean track lengths 11. 7 -10.1 /um. These data have recorded the rapid cooling events during approximately 120~105 Ma, 95~85 Ma, 60~50 Ma, 38 Ma, 25~20 Ma and 10~0 Ma. The uplift-cooling event during 120~105 Ma coincided with the activity of low-angle detachment normal fault in the Yanshan Mountain and its neighboring area and caused approximately 7 km of crustal exhumation. The uplift phase of 10 ~0 Ma coincided with the occurrence of the NE (NEE trending Shanxi graben system and caused approximately 2. 2 km of crustal exhumation. The denudation rates were approximately 0. 28 - 0. 06 mm/a during the rapid uplift and 0. 01 mm/a during the slow uplift. The stage of slow uplift corresponded with the development of five episodes of planation surfaces of the Yanshan Mountain and its neighboring area and five regional sedimentary interruptions of the Cenozoic basin in North China. On the basis of the isostasy theory, the mean altitude in the late Cretaceous was 1000 m higher than the present elevation in the Yanshan Mountain.