The brine- type lithium resources account for nearly 65% of the total proven resources in the world, and their products account for approximately 75% of total Li- salt products due to the feasibility and low exploiting cost. The brine- type Li deposits are mainly located in the salt lakes on three major plateaus in the world, namely the Tibet Plateau, the Andes Plateau in the western part of South America, and the Rocky Mountain Plateau in the western part of North America, and correspondingly formed three brine- Li metallogenic provinces. The quantity of brine Li resources in salt lakes of north Tibet and the Tarim basin is 23. 3 million tons (LiCl); the quantity of brine Li resources on the Andes plateau, west South America, covering salt lakes in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina is 23. 0 million tons (Li2O); the quantity of brine Li resources on the plateau of west North America is 5. 5 million tons (Li2O). Meanwhile, the South China block once was probably a paleo- plateau, and containing a great number of salt lakes which formed a certain number of Li- enriched brine deposits during late Mesozoic and Paleogene. The formation and elevation of the paleo- plateau are closely related to plate subduction and continental collision, i. e. Andes plateau and Rocky mountain plateau are formed owing to the subduction of Pacific plate beneath the American plate, the Tibet Plateau was formed by 〖JP2〗the subduction of India Plate beneath the Eurasian plate, whereas the South China paleo- plateau was formed by the subduction of paleo- Pacific plate beneath the Asian Continent. The subduction and subsequent elevation were favorable for the formation of the brine- type Li deposit. On one hand, the formation of plateau isolated the moisture from the ocean, reduced of rainfall on the plateau, formed an arid environment and induced strong evaporation. On the other hand, the dehydration and partial melting of the subducted oceanic plates result in the release of volatiles (including K, Li, Cl, and Br etc.) and the enrichment of these elements in the upper part of the continents. Moreover, the subduction and collision processes lead to the formation of tectonic- subsiding basins, meanwhile the volcanic activities released a great quantity of K and Li from the continents due to hydrothermal fluid- rock reaction and hot- warm spring activities caused by plate subduction and continental collision into the salt lakes. The coupling of paleoclimate, provenance and tectonism ultimately result in the〖JP〗 formation of Li- enriched brines in salt lakes. This study synthesizes the characteristics of brine- type lithium deposits in the world, and proposes a kinetic model for the formation of brine- type Li deposit in salt lakes.