Abstract: Tectonic-thermal evolution research is the key to basin analysis. Both the tectonic-thermal evolution technology and the present situation and problems of the tectonic-thermal evolution research in the South Yellow Sea Basin are summarized in this paper. The future tectonic-thermal research in the South Yellow Sea Basin mainly include:establishment of appropriate numerical thermo-mechanical model and its corresponding modeling technique of the South Yellow Sea Basin;Study of hydrocarbon generation stages based on advanced tectonic-thermal research results, and comparison of the South Yellow Sea Basin with the Northern Jiangsu Basin.