Structural analyses, balanced crosssection restoration and tectonophysical modeling were jointly used in this study to investigate the tectonic evolution and geodynamics of the Songliao basin. The basement of the Songliao basin was formed prior to Jurassic by coalescing multiple microplates and tectonic terranes in the PaleoAsian Ocean. During the Middle and Late Jurassic the basement was altered by the large scale sinistral strikeslip faulting of the northern segment of the Tancheng—Lujiang fault system, producing series of secondary NNE, NNW and near NStrending faults, which exerted primary controls on the tectonic configuration of the basement and the distribution of fault depressions. Two episodes of extension are recognized during rifting. The early episode is marked by the occurrence of grabenhost structures bounded by multidirectional planar faults. These structures are typical of biaxial doming extension in the pureshear mode. Together with the slightly NNEdominated orientation, these structures suggest that the early episode of extension was probably a result of lithosphere delamination and continued sinistral strikeslip faulting in the basement. The late episode is characterized by the development of westerly tilted halfgrabens separated by lowangle listric normal faults. This episode of extension was attributed to the near EW stretching in a simpleshear mode due to the regional crustal detachment and lithosphere thinning. The large scale thermal subsidence of the basin was the result of the subsequent eastward migration of PaleoPacific domain. The basin was inverted during the latest Cretaceous due to episodic, NWW compression, which was possibly associated with terrane accretions as the Izanagi Plate demised and the subduction of Pacific Plate began.