Xiaozhongdian Basin is located in the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau which is completely controlled by southwest monsoonal circulation. A thick continental lacustrine sedimentary sequence is preserved due to Late Cenozoic fault depression and offers a unique opportunity to study the variability of the southwest monsoonal circulation in detail. Based on the analytical results of grain size, spore-pollen and geochemical elements and 14C datings from a 15.3 m-long lacustrine stratum, five lake dry and shrink events during the last 40 ka, which might be correlated to Heinrich events H0-H4 discovered in North Atlantic region, have been found in Xiaozhongdian Basin, suggesting that Heinrich events for the last 40 ka are strongly imprinted not only in moisture source area of southwest monsoonal circulation, but also in inland area controlled by this circulation.