Abstract: The "Continental Shelf Drilling Project"(CSDP), sponsored by China Geological Survey and implemented by Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, is a basic research project under the "Marine Geology Research Program". It was initiated in 2011 with the mandate to drill coring holes on China's continental shelves for establishment of standard Cenozoic stratigraphic sequences so as to reveal the high resolution geological processes, paleo-climatic and paleo-environmental evolution, and the change in the pattern of source to sink in East Asia since late Cenozoic. The results are expected to help understand the formation and evolution of the marginal seas and to make breakthroughs in Quaternary geology. Attention will also be paid to the improvement of drilling and testing techniques, and construction of on-site monitoring systems, core storage and related databases.