The results of analysis on benthic foraminifera and grain size show that a 71.2m long columnar core DLC70 3 from the northern South Yellow Sea(36°38′15″N, 123°32′56″E,water depth 72.00m) has preserved the sedimentary record since 130 ka BP. Combined with the lithologic and grain size changes,nine benthic associations were identified by distributions of abundance and dominant species of benthic foraminifera from a total 349 sediments samples,corresponding respectively to five marine and four terrestrial—transitional face layers;based on the AMS14C and OSL dating data,a chronolithologic framework since MIS5 in the late Pleistocene for the core were set up,which can be compared with other South Yellow Sea cores.These benthic associations and abundance variations of different characteristic species demonstrate paleo environmental change since the last interglacial period in the study area,it was concluded that frequent sea level fluctuations produced a succession of facies types from terrestrial,intertidal,coastal to shallow marine.Buccella frigida and Protelphidium tuberculatum are dominant in the layers of 2040~2780 cm(early MIS3) and 5500~7120 cm (MIS5e) of the core,which represent a cold bottom water environment of the South Yellow Sea Cold Vortex at the marginal zone similar to present,indicating the existence of paleo cold water mass during the high sea level periods of MIS5e and early MIS3.