中文摘要：

在南海形成演化过程中热活动起到重要的作用，蕴含了丰富的地质信息；要系统了解南海的演化过程，认识和研究南海及邻近区域热状态、岩石圈热结构和构造热演化具有十分重要的科学意义。本文回顾了近40年来中外科学家在南海地热流探测及研究中取得的一些主要成果，重点介绍了对南海热状态、深部热结构以及热演化的研究进展，针对目前存在的主要问题：①早期的南海热流数据分布不匀，来源不同，质量良莠不齐；虽可反映出特征值的分布趋势，但难以准确反映出现今地热场实际情况。②以往对深部热结构及其热演化过程的研究基于宏观大尺度，而盆地热模拟研究主要集中在南海共轭陆缘北侧；此外，研究时间段也只聚焦在南海大陆破裂及海底扩张期间，因而在时空方面均具有一定的局限性。展望今后南海的地热流探测和研究工作应从以下几个方面去落实：①在进一步完善区域地热流资料的基础上，加强资料甄别及其相应的地质环境分析，对影响因素进行校正以反映真实的地热背景；并将热流异常从区域热流背景场中分离出来。②从不同尺度、多视角去认识深部构造的热结构特征及热演化过程的运动学和动力学机制。要获得一个“活”的南海演化史，通过以“热”研究为主线，与地球物理探测的岩石圈结构、地球化学研究成果相结合，可得到南海的物质组成－结构特征－能量分布的综合信息。这种多学科交叉、多方法融合可以避免解释结果的多样性和不确定性，有助于完整地认识南海的地质成因和构造演化的动力学机制。

英文摘要：

The geothermal activities contain abundant geological information. They play an important role in the evolution process of the South China Sea. So it is of great scientific significance to know and study the thermal state, thermal structure of the lithosphere and tectonic thermal evolution to understand the evolution of the South China Sea. This paper reviews the major achievements in the heat flow measurement and studies about the South China Sea by the Chinese and foreign scientists in the past forty years. And the research progresses of thermal state, deep thermal structure and thermal evolution are introduced emphatically. The authors also put forward the main existing problems： ① The heat flow data from the early studies are distributed unevenly with different sources and various qualities, though these data can reflect the distribution trend of characteristic values. While it is difficult to accurately reflect the present actual condition of geothermal field. ② The previous studies on deep thermal structure and thermal evolution were based on the macro scale. And the basin thermal simulation studies were mainly concentrated in the north side of the South China Sea. In addition, the study time only focused between the lithosphere rupture and seafloor spreading of the South China Sea. So it has certain limitations in terms of time and space. The future heat flow probe and research in the South China Sea should carry out the research from the following several aspects. ① On the basis of further perfecting regional heat flow data, the information screening and corresponding geological environment analysis should be strengthened. And the influence factors should be corrected to reflect the real geothermal background. The abnormal heat flow data should be separated from the regional heat flow field. ②The kinematic and dynamic mechanism of the deep thermal structure characteristics and thermal evolution process should be realized from the different scales and perspectives. In order to obtain a ＂live＂