Abstract: The Gulf of Mexico Basin is a famous oil-bearing basin in the world. It has been an important hotspot of world hydrocarbon exploration for years. Mexico locates to the south west of GOM with rich oil and gas resource. Exploration work in this basin started in 19th century, there are gas discoveries onshore and oil discoveries offshore. This paper made a comprehensive study on regional tectonic background and geological conditions together with hydrocarbon accumulation model. Study results show that the basin have many types of structures, extensional structures develop in the west while compression traps in the east. There are several high-quality source rocks, well developed reservoir-seal combinations and sandstones with good physical properties. The eastern compression fold area of the basin has excellent petroleum accumulation conditions and great exploration potential.