This article summarized some advances in petroleum sequence stratigraphy and sedimentology from an angle of oil/gas exploration in foreland basins. It introduced new theories of petroleum geology and expounded on prospects of oil/gas exploration in the foreland basins all over the world. It elaborated on the distribution of global foreland basins and fault belts and their dynamic mechanism

as well as features of drainage system development in foreland basins. It also discussed the functions of fractured reservoirs (taking the Zagros basin as an example)

syntectonic depositional wedge (taking the Ebro basin in Spain as an example)

system tracts and sedimentary sandbodies (taking Spitsbergen foreland basin in Europe as an example)

and petroleum systems (taking the Andes foreland basin in South America as an example). Finally

it pointed out that cases from South America and Middleeast foreland basins have important significance in guiding oil and gas exploration in central and western China

while the case from western Canadian foreland basin can be used as reference for assessment of unconventional resources in China. China is abundant in unconventional oil and gas resources

such as heavy oil

tight sandstone oil and gas

shale gas

coalbed methane

nature gas hydrate and etc. Tight oil and gas are mostly distributed in sedimentary facies belts of deep water lacustrine foredeeps in some foreland basins. Heavy oil and oil sands are distributed in orogenic belts and frontal uplift of certain foreland basins. Coal-bed methane is related to pinch out belts of coalbeds with a physical and/or lithological boundary. Shale gas exploration in China shall focus on sedimentary environmental analysis of source rocks

such as black shale with rich organic matter and carbonated shale. A case from Erdos Basin shows that basin and mountain coupling systems

sequence stratigraphy

basin floor topography restoration and sedimentary model of sandbodies may help us to better understand petroleum geology. It is suggested that attention shall be paid to the study of sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of foreland basins so as to achieve breakthrough in oil and gas (especially unconventional resources) exploration in China.