Abstract: As a transitional zone between the world's largest continent and ocean, the Okinawa Trough is filled with thick depositional sequences that may provide detailed information on Late Quaternary sea level fluctuations, climate changes and tectonic activities as well as environmental evolution. The research of Okinawa trough sediments and trace of the sediment provenance have become hot issues in the study of marginal seas. In recent years, comprehensive researches have been made on sediment sources of the Okinawa Trough and significant progress achieved. Upon the basis, this paper made a systematic summarization on Okinawa trough sediment sources and tracing methods used for source identification, including mineralogy, geochemistry and environmental magnetism. Problems encountered in current researches are reviewed, and future work for identification of sediment provenance is proposed.