Recently, it has found that there are large- scale strike- slip fault zones in the Sichuan cratonic basin, which is a new favorable frontier for the exploration and development of fault- controlled hydrocarbon reservoirs.The distribution and origin of strike- slip fractures are of great significance to the evaluation of hydrocarbon targets in the Sichuan basin. Based on the interpretation of 3D seismic data, this paper analyzes the distribution and characteristics of the strike- slip faults, and discusses the origin mechanism of the strike- slip fractures in the central Sichuan basin. The results show that large- scale intracontinental strike- slip fault system developed in the central Sichuan basin, and mainly occurred in the Ediacaran, Cambrian- Ordovician and Permian- Triassic strata. The strike- slip faults presented upright fractures and flower fractures in seismic sections, and isolated en echelon/oblique or linear structures in plane to show isolate fault segments. These suggest the diversity of fault styles and distribution. According to the differences of the structural stratification and fault features, the strike- slip fault system in the central basin initiated in the late sedimentary period of the Ediacaran Dengying Formation, and shared the characteristics of the transfer fault that has accommodated the deformation and displacement of the Ediacaran contemporaneous extensional “rift trough”. In this context, the pre- Cambrian strike- slip fractures developed widely in the Sichuan basin which were controlled by the oblique extensional process and the reactivation of the NW- trending basement weak fracture zones. The results indicate that large intracontinental strike- slip fault system may occur in the intracratonic basin that is different from the conventional plate margin and intraplate strike- slip fault system.