There are widespread Mesozoic-Cenozoic terrestrial volcanic activities in East China,and they produced favorable geologic factors for the volcanic reservoirs.To reveal the spatio-temporal evo-lution of regional volcanisms and their tectonic setting,we subdivide Mesozoic-Cenozoic volcanic activ-ities into 6 volcanic cycles(Ⅰ-Ⅵ),and summarize the temporal-spatial distribution,rock association and tectonic setting of each cycle.The Cycle Ⅰ forms a post-orogenic intraplate bimodal volcanic association.The cycles Ⅱ and Ⅲ include arc volcanic associations formed in compressional and extensional subduc-tion environments,respectively.The Cycle Ⅳ contains a post-orogenic arc bimodal association.The Cy-cle V is a basaltic association of tholeiite series under initial rift setting,and the Cycle Ⅵ is basaltic association of alkaline series under typical rift setting.The volcanic strata between each cycle are bounded by regional unconformity.The above 6 volcanic cycles correspond to 6 sequential stages of tec-tonic evolutions from the Early Jurassic post-orogeny,the Mid-Jurassic-Cretaceous subduction of the paleo-Pacific Plate to the Cenozoic marginal rifting.According to the geological characteristics of vol-canic reservoirs in different volcanic cycles,it is put forward that the Cycle V is the major formation period of volcanic reservoirs in East China and should be the focus of exploration,and that the volcanic reservoirs of the Cycle Ⅳ are also worthy of attention.