Abstract: Outcrops,well and seismic data demonstrate that many salt structures have developed in the Kuqa depression,northern Tarim basin,Northwest China.The salt structures have important influence on the forming process of hydrocarbon pools,and their types involve fault-propagation folds,fault-bend folds,fault-detachment folds,triangle zones,thrusts,pop-ups and their composites,etc.Tectonic compression and differential loading are major forming mechanisms of salt structures in the Kuqa depression.On the basis of restoration sections,the forming process of salt structures can be divided into three stages,namely wedged-bed,detachment anticlines,and intensely tectonic active.Influenced by the salt structures in the Kuqa depression,there are many types of structural traps and forming models of hydrocarbon pools.Majority of oil and gas locates in the subsalt traps.