Abstract: There are more than 100 Cenozoic sedimentary basins developed in Southeast Asia region, and these basins are undergone widespread rifting. To provide guidelines to hydrocarbon exploration in SE Asia, through analysis of the tectonic-sedimentary evolution of the basins, this research on hydrocarbon elements characteristics of the petroleum plays in the SE Asian basins was conducted, and the control of rifting on petroleum plays was discussed. Results show that the tectonic-sedimentary evolution of the basins in SE Asia undergone he early syn-rifting, the late syn-rifting, the early post-rifting and the late post-rifting. According to the rifting stages and reservoir lithofacies, the hydrocarbon plays of basins in SE Asia can be grouped into four different assemblages, i.e., the deeper, the lower, the middle, and upper ones. The deeper plays feature in the early syn-rifting lacustrine turbidites and alluvial fans reservoirs; the lower plays feature in the late syn-rifting transgressive fluvial-deltaic sandstone reservoir; the middle plays feature in the early post-rifting carbonate reservoir; and the upper plays feature in the late post-rifting regressive fluvial-deltaic sandstone reservoir. Among them, the middle plays develop the early post-rifting carbonate reservoir has the most promising exploration potential.