Abstract: The “SourcetoSink” system concerns with various components of sedimentary systems, from source areas, through dispersal systems, thence to deposition in a number of potential sedimentary sinks. It plays an important role in recent sedimentology research. This paper overviewed literatures at home and abroad, and discussed the research advance made on the important elements in the “SourcetoSink” system and the coupling effect of the elements. Numerous studies indicated that the firstorder control on the system is the source area, while the transport and sedimentary processes are response, at different process level, to sediment supply. The effect of physical and chemical weathering, resulted from paleogeographic evolution of the source area, controls sediment supply; and the temporal and spatial attributes of sediment supply determine the transport mode and channel type. Subsequently, the geologic processes reshape sediment component and structure; and the modification effects rely on the ratio between the timescales of a perturbation in the source area and the transport response. Ultimately, sediment selectively deposits in the basins spatially differentiated accommodation spacegenerated by the sedimentary geomorphology evolution in response to source evolution, and molds the various sedimentary features. Distinguished from other studies, the “SourcetoSink” system focuses on forwardevolutionary, quantitative and dynamic research. Nevertheless, the research technique of “SourcetoSink” is still exploratory. This paper suggests that future developments should include provenance system research, multitimescale quantitative geological characterization, and dynamic analysis with multidisciplinary approach.

Key words:  “SourcetoSink&rdquo, system, sediment supply, provenance signal, transportation process, sedimentary response