Abstract: The past half a century has witnessed three stages in the study of granitic rocks in South China.Stage 1 began in the 1960s,focusing on the temporal and spatial distribution of granitic rocks.Based on geological evidence and isotopic dating,it was verified that there exist polycyclic granitic rocks in South China,including late Protemzoic,Caledonian,Hercynian-Indosinian and Yanshanian granitoids.It was recognized that different orogenic cycles were accompanied by corresponding granitic rocks.Generally,the age of granitic rocks tends to be younger and younger from northwest to southeast(towards the ocean side).Stage 2 was from the 1970s to the 1980s,concentrating on the petrogenic material sources of granitic rocks.Granitic rocks were classified into four types (types M,I,S and A)in terms of the mechanisms of their formation.During this period researchers also studied the tectonic environments in which various genetic types of granitic rocks were formed,as well as their petrogeochemical criteria.Stage 3 began in the 1990s and is still making progress.The research in this stage has been focusing on the relationships between crust-mantle interaction and the formation of granitic rocks,such as that between the underplating of basaltic magma and the genesis of granitic rocks,and that between magma mingling and the variation of granitic composition.The future research in this field should focus mainly on the following three topics:1.the relationships between crust-mantle interaction and the genesis of A-type granitoids;2.the mechanisms of formation of intracontinental granitic magma(metamorphic core complexes,granitic domes,and composite granitic plutons);and 3.the genesis of the great granitic provinces in South China.