Objectives: The chronostratigraphic framework and distribution of the K2—N1Red beds in the Shuanghu—Lunpola area of the central Xizang(Tibetan) Plateau has been controversial due to lack of precise age controls and reliable guide fossils, which also affect the understanding of a series of other scientific problems about the red beds. In this study, we briefly discuss the time scale of the K2—N1red beds in the research area according to geochronological and stratigraphic study of the bentonite and volcanic rocks.Methods:The zircon LA- ICP- MS U- Pb dating is used to make a detailed geochronology of the bentonite and volcanic rocks in the research area.Zircon U- Pb isotope ages of selected samples were performed in the Isotopic Laboratory, Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of China Geological Survey and Continental Tectonics and Dynamics Laboratory of Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. Results:The zircon U- Pb dating of the volcanic rocks establish the Abushan Fm. age from 101.9 to 73.09 Ma, and the Bentonite combining previous ages of the Upper Niubao Fm. age of 45.41~43.82 Ma. Combined with the regional geological data, we establish the geochronologic time scale of the continental deposit from the Late Cretaceous to Miocene.Zircons from the bentonite yield concordant 206Pb/238U ages between 45.41 and 43.82 Ma, which is interpreted as the formation age of the Upper Niubao Fm. Similarly, zircons from the volcanic rocks yield concordant 206Pb/238U ages from 101.9 to 73.09 Ma, which is indicative of the formation age of the Abushan Fm. The zircon U- Pb and Ar- Ar dating of the volcanic rocks ranging from 35.5 to 32.59 Ma for the Nadingcuo Fm., and 46~28 Ma for the Yulinshan Fm., which unconformably overlie the Kangtuo Fm. and the Suonahu Fm. respectively, indicating the minimum depositional age of these two red beds. Conclusion: According to these data above, combined with previous research, we establish the chronostratigraphic framework of the K2—N1red beds in the Shuanghu—Lunpola area, consisting of the Upper Cretaceous Abushan Fm. and the Jingshan Fm., the Niubao Fm. and the Kangtuo Fm. during the Paleocene—Eocene epoch, the Eocene—Oligocene Suonahu Fm. and the Oligocene—Miocene Dingqinghu Fm., and these formations are also coeval with the red beds of the Hoh Xil basin to the north. The Abushan Fm., instead of the Kangtuo Fm. suggested by previous research, are mainly distributed within the Shuanghu—Duoma area, while the Kangtuo Fm. predominately outcrops in the Central Uplift of the Qiangtang Basin and other hills. The Suonahu Fm. trends to be located along the gentle depressions near the Shuanghu area. The Jiangzhushan Fm., the Niubao Fm. and the Dingqinghu Fm. are widely located along the Bangong Lake—Nujiang River suture zone, and the Niubao Fm. extends north to Duoma area.Establishing the chronostratigraphic framework and distribution of the K2—N1 red beds in the Shuanghu—Lunpola area may give us a further understanding of the basin evolution and active time of thrusts from the Late Cretaceous to Miocene in the study area with the purpose to provide a useful basis to the study on sedimentary—tectonic—paleoenvironment evolution in the central plateau.