The continental records of the continental records of the Paleocene—Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) is conducive to carrying out paleoclimate research and revealing the response law of the terrestrial environment to climate change. The aim of this paper is summarizing the PETM research results of typical continental basins in North America, western Europe and China.Methods:Based on summarizing and comparative analysis of lithofacies and carbon isotopes in different sections.Results:First, the comparative analysis shows that the carbon isotope excursion process in continental strata during the PETM can be divided into three phases: Fast negative deviation, low value and slow recovery. Second, concomitant with the carbon isotope excursion that marks the PETM, the lithofacies usually changed to the conglomerate, sandstone body and paleosoil with coarse grains, representing a seasonal intensification of precipitation. Third, mammals and plants on land adapted to rapidly changing environment by evolution, dispersal and local extinction.Conclusions:There are still some problems in the study of PETM continental records in China, such as lack of accurate age constraints and systematic paleontological fossil studies. Future research on PETM should promote the research idea of combining multiple dating methods and multiple index records on the basis of the original profile, and try to find ideal profile in Jianghan Basin and other areas with research potential to carry out systematic work.