Abstract: The South Yellow Sea Basin is the offshore extension of the lower Yangtze Block. Huge Mesozoic and Palaeozoic marine deposits are deposited in the basin. However, the oil and gas exploration of the marine strata remains on a relatively low level. There are many scientific problems in oil and gas exploration in the Pre-Cenozoic residual basin which are difficult to solve, at least for the time being. This article summarized the current status of the oil exploration in the basin in details based on massive literature investigation and put forward some key problems which seriously hinder the oil and gas exploration and need to be resolved immediately. Suggestions are made in this article to the solution of the problems, especially the oil and gas exploration in the Mesozoic and Palaeozoic.