Recent studies of biostratigraphy, isotope stratigraphy and magnetic stratigraphy in the Nanxiong Basin of Guangdong, the Chijiang Basin of Jiangxi, the Hengyang Basin of Hunan, and the Erlian Basin of Nei Mongol （Inner Mongolia） provide reliable evidence for the establishment of the Shanghuan Stage, the Nongshanian Stage and the Lingchan Stage of the continental early Paleogene in China. In addi- tion, these studies provide a basis to correlate these Chinese continental stages to the marine strata and the global boundary stratotype. The Datang section （from Ejinling to Nilongkeng） in the Nanxiong Basin of Guangdong is proposed as the stratotype section of the base of the Shanghuan Stage （lower Paleocene）. Paleomagnetic results indi- cate that the base of a yellow-gray clay sandstone bed, representing the boundary between the Nanxiong Group and the Shanghu Formation, lies in upper part of the Chron C29r, fairly close to the K/T boundary. This inference is consistent with recent radiometric dating results. Together with the fossil mammals and lithostratigraphic data, it is currently acceptable to use the base of a yellow-gray clay sandstone bed as the lower limit of the Shanghuan Stage. The Tianxinli-Shizikou section in the Chijiang Basin of Jiangxi is the stratotype section of the base of the Nongshanian Stage （middle-upper Paleocene）. The section documented a distinct faunal change from the Shizikou Formation （lower Paleocene） to the Chijiang Formation （middle-upper Paleocene）. Paleomagnetic analysis reveals that the boundary between the Shizikou Formation and the Chijiang Formation, hence the Shanghuan-Nongshanian boundary, coincides with the Chron C27n-C26r transition. Therefore, the Shanghuan-Nongshanian boundary can be roughly correlated to the Danian-Selandian boundary of the Global Geologic Timescale and the Torrejonian-Tiffanian boundary of North American Land Mammal Ages. The Lincha-Xialiu Section in the Hengyang Basin of Hunan is selected as the stratotype section of the base of the Lingchan Stage. The negative carbon isotope excursion recorded from the Paleogene strata of the Hengyang Basin marks the base of the lower Eocene Lingchan Stage, which is correlative to the Paleocene-Eocene boundary of the Global Geologic Timescale.
