Abstract: To make clear the forming time of structures and its control factors is of significance to the study of sedimentology, oil and gas accumulation and distribution pattern of oil and gas in a hydrocarbon-rich depression. Based on the newly acquired 3D seismic data from the Huanghua Depression, the study reveals that the Cenozoic structure development of the Huanghua Depression was controlled by the tectonic inversion of basement, thrusting and folding and the movement of strike slip faults and the occurrence of volcanic rocks. The timing of the transformation from a rift to a depression basin is critical.