Analysis of tectonic evolution sequence is one of the most important work in petroliferous basin analysis and the foundation in study work of basin evolution and principle of petroleum distribution. Based on the characteristics comprehensive analysis of the plate movement, the crust-mantle motion, the magma events, the structural feature and sedimentation, the restriction of these geologic processes and the significance of important tectonic events were studied in this paper, Meanwhile, the tectonic evolution sequence of the northern South China Sea was established. According to the study results the research group made, four tectonic events occurred during the period Cenozoic, they are the Lile movement, the Xiwei movement, the Nanhai movement and the Nansha movement, the effect of Lile movement is lead to the first tension in the northern of South China Sea and appear of a series of NE trend tensional faults , the Xiwei movement makes tensional faults bigger and deeper, the Nanhai movement not only change the tensional faults trend from NE to NEE, but also turn them to a big depression gradually, finally ,the function of Nansha movement is formed the structural framework with differential subsidence. Regional differences of study area also be studied, the regular pattern of which is that, from west to east and from north to south, the time of tectonic events occurred later and later.