大陆动力学主要研究大陆岩石圈组成、结构及演化的动力学过程，是对板块构造理论的重大发展。国家自然科学基金对大陆动力学领域进行了长期稳定的关注和重点支持。在地球科学部“十五”发展战略中，大陆动力学正式为7个优先发展领域之一，并在“十一五”之后继续得到加强。2002—2009年，共资助63个重点项目，累计资助经费约1亿元，另外还得到了其他类别项目，如面上项目、重大研究计划、国际合作研究项目的支持。我国大陆的地域广阔，演化过程复杂，地质记录丰富。在国家自然科学基金资助下，我国科学家在大陆动力学领域取得了巨大的科学进展的同时，也培养造就了一大批优秀人才，在国际学术界占据了重要地位。

Continental dynamics studies the dynamics and kinetics of the continent and related Earth system components, as well as their evolution. It is a new improvement for the plate tectonic theory. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has been supporting the research in the field for a long period. Continental dynamics has been among one of the priority areas in the Department of Earth Science of NSFC since 2001. During the period of from 2002 to 2009, 63 key projects had been supported and the total budget was around 100 million Yuan RMB. This field is also supported through other source of NSFC, such as general programs, major research programs, and international collaborative research programs. China owns large continental territory with complex evolution history and geological records. Supported by NSFC, Chinese scientists have achieved immense progress in the science of continental dynamics. In the same time, a group of excellent young scientists have been well trained through the research work, and play important role in the international scientific community.