Developed in the Mt. Kunlun orogenic belt at the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is an activeCenozoic volcanic zone which is more than 1000km in length and some ten to hundred kilometers in width.It extends east-westwards and is roughly parallel to the strike of Mt. Kunlun. The Cenozoic volcanic rocksare divided into the northem (N-)and southern (S-) subzones. Eruptions of volcanic lavas in the S-subzone are related to an initial rift zone within the north Qiangtang terrane, but the volcanic rocks in theN-subzone are relatively close to the contact zone between the Mt. Kunlun and the Tarim terrane. Thespace-time distribution, petrological and geochemical features can be explained by a model of southwardintraplate subduction of the Tarim terrane.