Abstract: The Dabaoshan deposit is a large−sized polymetallic deposit in northern Guangdong province, South China, and consists mainly of porphyry− and skarn−type Mo–W mineralization and adjacent stratiform Cu–Pb–Zn mineralization. It has been debated for a long time whether the stratiform Cu–Pb–Zn mineralization is related to a Jurassic porphyry Cu–Mo system, or to a Devonian exhalative event with Jurassic overprinting. One of the key issues is that the depositional age of the ore−hosting strata and petrogenetic relationship to the layered volcanic rocks were not well constrained. In this paper, we conducted LA−ICP−MS zircon U−Pb dating and Hf isotope study for the ore−hosting strata in the Dabaoshan deposit. The results show that the youngest ages of detrital zircon from two ore−hosting strata samples yield 430±8 Ma and 431±4 Ma, whereas those from two footwall rocks samples of the layered volcanic rocks yield 239±3 Ma and 189±3 Ma, respectively. It suggests that the depositional age of the ore−hosting strata and footwall rocks of the layered volcanic rocks belongs to the Middle Devonian and the Early Jurassic, respectively. They were mainly derived from Neo− to Meso−proterozoic (1200~750 Ma) and Paleozoic (440~420 Ma) crust with minor input of Paleo−proterozoic (2500~1600 Ma) and Pan−African (650~520 Ma) material. In addition, the footwall rocks include the Late Paleozoic to the Early Mesozoic detrital zircons (340~210 Ma). The Hf isotopic signature suggests that these materials were mainly originated from recycled ancient crust and the Proterozoic juvenile crust. All above mentioned were the response to the early micro−continental evolution of the Cathaysia Block, amalgamation between the Yangtze Craton and the Cathaysia Block and their Phanerozoic evolution. The layered volcanic rocks were unconformable overlaid by the ore−hosting Devonian rocks, and they were both thrusting on the Jurassic clastic rocks. The stratiform Cu−Pb−Zn orebodies were suffering from the Devonian sedimentary exhalative, then overprinted by the Yanshanian magmatic−hydrothermal activity.