The authors discuss the depositional characteristics and sequence stratigraphic significance of late Paleozoic coal-bearing strata of the Datong area, Shanxi. The coal-bearing strata comprise clastic-carbonate mixed shore zone sediments, delta sediments and fluvial sediments, with fluvial sediments predominating. On the basis of the characteristics of the sedimentary facies, the au-thors analyse the features of the base level rise and fall and migration of sedimentary facies zones, and summarize the relationships between the distribution of the clastic reservoirs and sedimentary facies zones and the sequence boundaries.