On the basis of the analysis of structure and sedimentary evolution of the seismic section in rn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Western Qaidam Basin and combining the basement lithology, faults distribution and history of tectonic movement, the authors reconstructed the dynamical evolution framework of structure and sedimentation of Western Qaidam Basin during the Cenozoic. The results suggested that Western Qaidam Basin was under the compression tectonic background of the Tibetan Plateau uplift caused by the collision of India and Eurasia in the Cenozoic and underwent two violent periods of tectonic deformation.