Abstract: It is indicated that the embryo of modern Tarim basin was brought about by Tarim orogeneses. The midCaledonian movement resulted in that the introai-cratonic extensional Tarim basin during Cambrian-Ordovician transformed into a compressional basin during Silurian-Devonian. Because of early-Tianshan, and late-Tianshan orogeny and Indosinian orogeny, three tectonic inversions, block-faulting, elevation, erosion and peneplanation occurred, which affected the structural deformation of the Tarim to a large extent. Owing to the Himalayan movement, the Tianshan and Kunlun mountain belts around the basin rapidly compressed, shortened,uplifted, and denuded, and an intense flexural subsidence of the Tarim continental lithosphere took place. The major tectonic movements of the basin are related to streching, rifting, subduction and collision and closing atthe plate margins.