Abstract: The dramatic change of subcontinental lithosphere mantle (SCLM) beneath North China in Cenozoic-Mesozoic has been a hotly debatable issue in Earth science community. This paper presents an overview on topics related to this field, such as temporal and spatial characteristics of lithospheric transformation, progresses in geophysical and geological studies, latest applications of new analytical technology, mechanism and deep processes involved, as well as the dynamic regime in tectonics.The author emphasizes to adopt the term of transformation, instead of the term of thinning as used so far, to describe this large scale geodynamic event in East Asia. It is also noted that "the destruction of craton" is not a proper phrase for delineating such an event in North China. Meanwhile, a global link between Mesozoic mantle overturn and transformation of SCLM in eastern China has been proposed and stressed, which opens a variety of research approaches to further studies.