Abstract: The formation of sedimentary basins is considered to be closely related to the thermal and material convection in the Earth's interior.The mantle convection is the primary driv-ing force for the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins,and manifested in the posi-tion of the asthenosphere,Moho discontinuity and mantle plume.The ancestrial basins have been classified,in this paper,into cratonic,extensional,compressional and strike-slip basins according to the rheologic boundary within the mantle lithosphere,the nature and thickness of the lithospere,intraplate stress,and sedimentary loading.