Abstract: Back-stripping analysis for Paleogene subsidence history in the Qiongdongnan Basin is made based on the sequence stratigraphic framework. The result shows that the center of subsidence was shifting for different depositional stage, and the rate of settlement changing with the intensity of tectonic activities. Two echelon of settlement are identified in the Qiongdongnan Basin, but the north-west and south-east parts are non-settlement areas. From the result of back-stripping simulation in the deepest position, there are three major faulting episodes in the basin, and the rate of subsidence is decreasing one after another. The subsidence in the south-east part of the central depression zone is faster than that in the north-west part.