The State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution (SKLLE) belongs to the Institute of Geology and Geophysics，Chinese Academy of sciences, and it was formally authorized by the Ministry of Science and Technology to construct on April 18th, 1980.

The Laboratory is engaged in basic research, using multi-disciplinary integrated theories and methods of geology, geophysics, and geochemistry and so on, devotes itself to studying the material composition, structure and evolution history of the continental lithosphere, and crust-mantle process and the basin-range systems.

    The Laboratory has acquired a series of high-level outstanding achievements on continental dynamics .Under opening and flowing management system, it has displayed the geology, the geophysics and the geochemistry cross-integration superiority, has formed the good scientific research atmosphere of academic freedom and development innovation, and an influential research team at home and abroad. In recent years, a number of key personnel of the Laboratory has presided and undertaken many 973 projects and R&D projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and significant projects of National Natural Sciences Foundation as well as Chinese Academy of Sciences. Meanwhile, with the support of the "knowledge innovation project", it has basically completed the constructing of related disciplines, supporting experiments and observation equipments. It has become the laboratory with certain famous in and out.

Academician Zhu Rixiang is Director of the Laboratory; Academician Chen Yong is Director of Academic Committee.

      The Laboratory has 44 fixed staff at present, including 28 researchers, 4 vice-researchers, 7 senior engineers and senior experimental members. Fixed staff include 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences , 3 chief scientists of 973 project,15 winners of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars,8 members of "One Hundred Talents Program" of CAS, 1 winner of Chinese Young Scientist Award, 1 nominative winner of Chinese Young Scientist Award, 2 "Jin-chui Award" winners of Geological Society of China,2 "Hou De Feng Award" winners of Chinese Society for  Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry, 2 innovative groups of NNSFC, 1 innovative team of CAS(International Partnership Project).

      The floating personnel of the Laboratory included 1 foreign senior researcher and 20 domestic researchers, in 2005.

       31researchers of the fixed staff work meanwhile in academic organizations at home and abroad, such as Scientific Committee on the Lithosphere, ICSU, International Committee of Eclogite, the Third World Academy of Sciences, International Committee of Geo-Electromagnetice Induction, Nomenclature Committee of Meteoritical Society, China National Committee for SCL/ICSU, and Chinese National Committee for World Petroleum Congress. Chinese Geophysical Society, Geological Society of China, Chinese Space Society, Chinese Society for mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry, Committee of Continental Dynamics in China, and so on. And 48 person-times play an important role    in 29 publications in and out, such as Science in China, Chinese Science Bulletin, Acta Petrologica Sinica, Chinese Journal of Geophysics, tectonophysics, etc..