Contemporaneously with the geological block escaping and tectonic uplifting deve loped in the Tibetan Plateau in the Cenozoic, volcanism took place during 6 0~40 Ma, 3 0~15 Ma and later than 5 Ma (Middle Pliocene-Late Pleistocene). The threestage vo lcanism belongs to different tectonic settings, such as subduction of the pla te, collision of the continental plates and continued NScompression and inje ct ion beneath the crust during the postcollision, respectively. The volcan ic rocks of the third stage are mainly shoshonite series. The volcanism with hig hK calcal kaline basalt and basalticandesite series during 4 Ma to 0.01 Ma in the T engchong area was controlled by the tectonic setting of righthand shearext ension that resulted from the continued northward injection of the Indian plate into Euras ian plate. The magma was from the existed orogenic belt of the continental margi n on the southeastern side of the Tibetan plateau. The volcanism is not related with the subduction of the Burma or the activation of the MyitkyinaMandalay s uture.