Abstract: Geochronology of petroleum accumulation is a frontier field in modern petroleum geology, which mainly deals with the accumulation timing and filling history of a hydrocarbon reservoir. Several methods and technologies such as reservoir geochemistry, fluid inclusion analyzing, isotopic dating, organic lithology, dew-point/saturated pressure analyzing,and oil/gas-water contact retrospecting have been developed to determine the accumulation timing and hydro- carbon filling history. Although these methods have been used successfully in some simple basins,most of them have their own deficiency to some extent. In this paper, these methods are reviewed and their problems and applications dis- cussed. It is concluded that a synthetic study using multiple methods is usually necessary when accumulation timing and hydrocarbon filling history in basins with complicated history of orogeny, petroleum generation, migration and accumulation are analyzed. Methods like fluid inclusion analyzing and authigenic illite's K-Ar dating,though having great potential in geochronologic determination of petroleum reservoirs, still need to be improved and combined with other methods to deal with the accumulation timing and hydrocarbon filling history in a complex basin.

Key words: geochronology, reservoir-forming history, fluid inclusion, illite K-Ar dating, reservoir geochemistry, oil/gas-water contact retrospecting