Abstract: Shelf-margin deltas have become an important hydrocarbon exploration target in the world for its wide distribution,big thickness and well-developed reservoirs.We made a brief review in this paper on the research status of the delta both at home and abroad,with emphasis on its depositional characteristics.The deltaic deposits developed in the Zhuhai Formation of the Pearl River Mouth Basin were taken as examples.We presented in the paper the identification criteria of a shelf-margin delta and its role in development of sand bodies at continental slope and deep basin.Facts suggest that the shelf-margin delta be of great significance for the deepwater hydrocarbon exploration.