Inversion on velocity structure was conducted applying the receiver function to the data from 10 of the broad-band teleseismic stations deployed in the Altun area. The tentative results show an intermittent low-velocity zone 5-10 km thick at a depth of around 20 km along the Ruo-qiang-Huatugou profile. The Moho is step-like, being shallow in the north and deep in the south. The crustal thickness is 40-42 km in the southern Tarim Basin. A drop of 6. 5-8 km in Moho depth is present beneath the stations on the sides of the Altun south-margin and north-margin faults, while the Moho depth beneath the northern margin of the Qaidam basin is up to over 50 km with an S wave velocity of 4. 5 km/s.