Based on the systematic study of aromatic hydrocarbons in over 100 crude oil samples
collected from the Tabei and Tazhong uplifts in the Tarim Basin, the western depression area in
the Qaidam Basin and the Tabei depression in the Turpan Basin, the geochemical characteristics of the marine (Tarim Basin), saline lacustrine (Qaidam Basin), and swamp (Turpan Basin) oils were investigated. The marine oils from the Tarim basin are characterized by relatively low abundance of diaromatic hydrocarbons such as biphenyl and naphthalene, and relatively high abundance of triaromatic hydrocarbons including phenanthrene, dibenzothiophene and fl uorene. In contrast, the swamp oils from the Turpan Basin are dominated by the highest relative abundance of diaromatic hydrocarbons and the lowest relative abundance of triaromatic hydrocarbons in all the oil samples in this study. The relative abundance of diaromatic and triaromatic hydrocarbons in the saline lacustrine oils from Qaidam Basin is between that in Tarim oils and Turpan oils. Aromatic parameters based on the isomer distributions of dimethylnaphthalenes (DMN), trimethylnaphthalenes (TMN), tetramethylnaphthalenes (TeMN) and methylphenanthrenes (MP), i.e., 1,2,5-trimethylnaphthalene(TMN)/1,3,6-TMN ratio, 1,2,7-TMN/1,3,7- TMN ratio, (2,6- +2,7-)-dimethylnaphthalenes (DMN)/1,6-DMN ratio, 1,3,7-TMN/(1,2,5- +1,3,7-)-TMN, 1,3,6,7-TeMN/(1,3,6,7- +1,2,5,6- +1,2,3,5-)-TeMN ratio and MP index, may refl ect the diversity of organic source input, thermal maturity and depositional environments. In addition, the dibenzothiophenes (DBTs)/fluorenes(Fs) and dibenzofurans (DBFs)/Fs ratios were found to the very useful and effective in determining genetic types of crude oils for the marine, saline lacustrine, and swamp depositional environments, and for oil-oil correlations.