On the base of studies on the landforms and Quaternary deposits through detailed geologic mapping and borehole data, writers probed into the tectonic activities of the Dongting basin and its adjacent areas. Three stages of Quaternary tectonic evolution in the Dongting basin may be distinguished. Early Pleistocene—late Middle Pleistocene is a faulting—subsiding period for the Dongting basin, when there were tectonic movements as follows: ① the basin and its secondary sags were controlled by four groups of normal faults, i.e., NNE, NW, EW and SNtrending faults; ② every secondary sag subsided violently and received deposits with interior subsiding center far from boundary faults; ③ the faulting subsidence moved toward east and west margin of the basin for gradual expanding of the basin; ④ the faulting subsidence of the basin possessed episodic characteristics and can be divided into three faulting—subsiding episodes, i.e.,early Early Pleistocene, late Early Pleistocene and early—middle Middle Pleistocene;⑤the Huarong uplift subsided observably, while other uplifts around the Dongting basin experienced pulsative rises;⑥steady and rising period of the Chishan uplift corresponded with slow and rapid subsiding period of the Anxiang sag, respectively. The Dongting basin entered into a depressional phase since late Middle Pleistocene. The basin rose and were denuded in late Middle Pleistocene, while there occurred tectonic tilt on the east and west margine of the basin, and folds in Quaternary deposits were formed in part areas; Main body of the basin subsided for depression and received deposits during Late Pleistoncene— Holocene, while there existed clear rise in part areas around the basin. These tectonic activities in different periods can be interpreted by deep matter transfer of the Dongting basin and its periphery, and by movement of the platescale material and compression.