Abstract: The South China Sea is one of the marginal seas in the northwest Pacific with complex submarine topography. Its north and south shelves are wide and gentle, and the west and east shelves are narrow and steep. There are a series of sedimentary basins on the continental margin. They are rich in oil and gas resources and could be compared with the Persian Gulf as resource potential is considered. We made a brief review in this paper of the sedimentary basins in the oil and gas zones on the north continental shelf of the South China Sea, the potential zones in the Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and abyssal region, the Lile-Taiping potential zone and the oil and gas zones on the south continental shelf of the South China Sea. Estimated resource and hydrocarbon potentials of these sedimentary basins are presented. According to the understanding of petroleum geology of the South China Sea, we divided the study areas into three types:the oil and gas production area, the prospective area and the area without prospect (abyssal region). Development strategies should be built for different areas. Exploitation and utilization of resources should be accelerated in the oil and gas zones on the north continental shelf of the South China Sea. In the areas of the Xisha and Zhongsha Islands,right target areas should be selected for breakthrough in key area through geophysical prospecting and regional research.We should follow the policy of the government to seek for joint development in the area of Nansha Islands.