Transfer functions between the benthic foraminiferal fauna of seventy-one sediment surface-samples retrieved from the South Yellow Sea inner shelf and the environmental factors, including the summer bottom-water salinity(Ss), the summer bottom-water temperature(Ts) and the winter bottom-water temperature(Tw) have been developed utilizing weighted averaging partial least square regression(WA-PLS). Subsequently, the transfer functions have been applied to a late Holocene piston core SY01 from the South Yellow Sea inner shelf, established the variation curves of the Ss, Ts, and Tw during the last 3.9 cal. ka. The Ss and Ts showed a nearly synchronous trend to the published stalagmite δ18O curve from the Jiuxian Cave, meaning they could be used as reliable indicators for the summer monsoon. Similarly, the Tw could be used as an indicator for the winter monsoon for its synchronous change to the insensitive grain size variation of the core ZY-2 retrieved from the Central Yellow Sea mud area. These results suggest that transfer functions based on benthic foraminiferal fauna can be a potentially useful tool in palaeoceanographic and palaeoenvironmental research along the Chinese seaboard. Transfer functions between the benthic foraminiferal fauna of seventy-one sediment surface-samples retrieved from the South Yellow Sea inner shelf and the environmental factors, including the summer bottom-water salinity (Ss), the summer bottom-water temperature (Ts) and the The bottom-water temperature (Tw) have been developed utilizing weighted averaging partial least square regression (WA-PLS). The transfer functions have been applied to a late Holocene piston core SY01 from the South Yellow Sea inner shelf, established the variation curves of the Ss, Ts, and Tw during the last 3.9 cal. ka. The Ss and Ts showed a nearly synchronous trend to the published stalagmite δ18O curve from the Jiuxian Cave, meaning they could be used as reliable indicators for the summer monsoon. Similarly, the Tw could be used as an indicator for the winter monsoon for its synchronous change to the insensitive grain size variation of the core ZY-2 retrieved from the Central Yellow Sea mud area These results suggest that transfer functions based on benthic foraminiferal fauna can be a potentially useful tool in palaeoceanographic and palaeoenvironmental research along the Chinese seaboard.