The clear exploration direction and optimization prospecting targets can guide the exploration and improve the success rate of exploration wells for medium-high temperature geothermal resources. Based on the latest geothermal database, combined with the regional tectonic thermal background, this paper systematically analyzes the heat source, the channel, the reservoir, and the cap rock and fluid characteristics of the geothermal system. Four major exploration directions and 16 optimal target areas for the exploration of the geothermal resources of medium-high-temperature in China are delineated. Specifically, the inner zone of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau (the Yadong-Gulu rift zone, the Guna rift zone, the Shenzha rift zone, and the eastern and western syntaxis of the Himalayan), the outer zone of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau (the Gonghe Guide basin, the Songpan region in western Sichuan), the eastern area (the Songliao Basin, the Yitong Fault Zone, the Changbai Mountain Volcanic Area, the Bohai Bay Basin and its surrounding areas, the southeast coast area, and the Leizhou Peninsula-the northern Hainan Island) and the central rift valley area (the Erlian Basin, the Fenwei Graben, and the Shanxi Graben).

medium-high temperature geothermal resources  /  tectonic  /  thermal background  /  optimizing prospecting targets