South China is characterized by extensively developed orogenic belts that enclose the Yangtze Craton(YzC).These orogenic belts were built up in various periods.They are the Triassic Qinling-Dabie Orogenic Belt(QDOB) in the north,the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Three-river Orogenic Belt(TOB) in the west,the Youjiang Orogenic Belt(YOB) in the southwest,the Middle Paleozoic Huanan Orogenic Belt(HOB) in the southeast,and the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Maritime Orogenic Belt(MOB) along the coast.A few micro continental blocks,such as Wuyi Block,Baoshan Block and South China Sea Block,scatter in orogenic belts.This paper described Phanerozic paleogeographic evolution of South China with the YzC as center,and their constraint to the accumulation of marine source rocks.Important tectonic events that have caused paleogeographic changes in South China include continental rifting that developed into passive margin in the period of Neoproterozoic to the Early Paleozoic,orogeny of HOB in the Middle Paleozoic,extension in the Late Paleozoic,closing of Paleo-Tethys in Mesozoic,subduction of Pacific Plate beneath Eurasia Plate since Jurassic,as well as collision between India and Eurasia Plates in Cenozoic.All these tectonic events have their own limitation in active time and influence region.Their influence and constraint to petroleum migration,accumulation and later adjustment are also limited.Therefore,it will be helpful in petroleum exploration to be practical and realistic in studying individual case.