Abstract: The oil and gas basins in China are tectonically classified into intracratonic primary basins of marine deposits inside the platform formed in pre-Indo-Chinese movement days and secondary composite superimposed basins of continental deposits formed through internal disintegration of plates during the Meso-Cenozoic eras in post-Indo-Chinese movement time. The former constitutes a kind of stable transitional oil and gas basins of platform type, and the latter basins of varying types in the fault-depressions, depressions, piedmont depressions and intermontane depressions. The control of oil and gas basins over accumulations of oil and gas is reviewed in the following respects: (1) sedimentary basins as the basic structural units for the formation of oil and gas pools; (2) oil and gas accumulations strictly under the control of oil generation centers in depressions; (3) multicyclic nature of deposition of source and reservoir rocks; (4) strict control of sedimentary facies over oil and gas distribution; (5) shallow sea basins favourable for oil generation, platform margin for oil accumulation and storage and platform for oil generation and storage; (6) formation and types of oil and gas pools controlled by the development of basin structures and (7) oil and gas accumulations distributed in rows, zones or in rings. In appraising the perspectivity of the sedimentary basins in China, the author divides the stable platform regions with marine deposits into ten units and the Meso-Cenozoic basins with continental deposits into six units. In his opinion, the continental shelf along the sea coast should take the first place with prospect greater than that of eastern China. The latter ranks next in potentiality and is expected to be able to maintain its present level of production for some time to come provided more detailed work is done. The western part of China stands third on the priority list where exploratory effort should be intensified so that it may get close to eastern China in oil production. In regions covered by paleozoic marine deposits, primary efforts should be directed toward the search of gas, with the search of oil in a subordinate position, paying particular attention to the search of coal-generated gas at the same time.