Surrounded by the West Kunlun Mountains and the Tian Shan fold-and-thrust belts, the Cenozoic vertical-axis rotations of the Tarim Basin are crucial for understanding the kinematic processes of the western Himalayan syntax and the Tian Shan orogeny. However, the Cenozoic rotation pattern and magnitude of the Tarim Basin remain disputed. This study conducted detailed magnetic fabric analyses on Late Cenozoic sediments along the Hongbaishan profile at the Mazatagh thrust belt in the central Tarim Basin. By examining the features of magnetic fabrics, paleocurrent directions and provenance, we concluded that the magnetic fabrics at Hongbaishan were embryonic tectonic fabrics, which can reflect paleostress directions. After rotation correction, the compressional direction during the Late Cenozoic at Hongbaishan was NNE, consistent with the upper-crust vectors revealed by GPS observations. This pattern is primarily related to the nearly N-S-directed India-Eurasia collision and the continuous indentation of the Indian plate into Eurasia since the Cenozoic. This indicates that compressional stress has propagated into the interior of the Tarim Basin since at least ~9.7 Ma from the collisional zone. The compressional stress directions at Hongbaishan, as revealed by magnetic fabrics, indicate that the Mazatagh region has undergone an absolute ~7.0° clockwise rotation since ~7.6 Ma (relative to the spin axis of the Earth). These rotation patterns and magnitudes are consistent with results from classical geological methods and GPS observations and may represent the true rotational features of the Tarim Basin since the Late Cenozoic. However, previous paleomagnetic results surrounding the Tarim Basin mostly reflect local rotation features within the peripheral orogeny. The Late Cenozoic clockwise rotations of the Tarim Basin may be related to the northward indentation of the Pamir salient or the heterogeneity of the Tian Shan, leading to the E-W inhomogeneity of the upper crust.