Abstract: Sequence stratigraphy arose in the late 1980s to provide a new thinking method for understanding coal accumulation.Based on the analyses of previous Chinese and worldwide study results with respect to sequence stratigraphy of paralic coal-bearing strata,we find that the opinions such as coal accumulation during transgression,episodic coal accumulation,event coal accumulation and coal accumulation during a lag time of marine limestone beds have greatly contributed to the advancement of the research on coal-bearing strata.Sequence stratigraphy strengthens the research on the relationship between peat accumulation and accommodation.Sequence stratigraphy,together with coal petrology and coal chemistry,can better reveal the relationship between peat accumulation and accommodation.Stratigraphic relationship and the characteristics of coal seam,coal petrology and coal chemistry provide some useful information for coal seam being the boundary of genetic stratigraphic sequence.The emphasis that sequence stratigraphy strengthens the research on coal seam location within its framework has shifted to the aspect that it focuses on the study of the change of base level within coal and the relationship between accommodation and coal seam and coal petrology.It is a significant thing to construct the coal accumulation models or theories regarding the lacustrine basins in different tectonic settings for the future study.