Abstract: Growth and the uplift process of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a long-time and widely interested in scientific issue. Coupling of the high mountain belts and the synorogenic basins distributed in northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a result of plateau growth; this coupled system is a very important geological archive of the plateau uplift during the Cenozoic era. Our investigations on sedimentary and landform evolution in the region of Xining Basin show that this mountain-basin system was formed since at least ~ 50 Ma (million years) ago, the relatively stable fluvial-lacustrine deposition shows that this landform was persisted for a long time to 16~10 Ma. The depositional environment in this Basin was changed to incision at around 16~10 Ma ago reveals an significant tectonic movement and/or climate shift occurred during this time; the widely developed river terraces which are 400 meters in height difference, and 10 times increased in incision rate in this basin together reveal the important tectonic uplifts and climate shifts occurred ~2.0 Ma ago. This case study of Xining Basin may indicate growth of northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has responded to collision between Eurasia and Indian plates since the early Cenozoic era, ~50 Ma ago.