Objective The phosphorite deposits of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in South China are representative products of the global phosphogenic event during the late Neoproterozoic and constitute an important component of China's phosphate resources. However, their geological setting and genetic mechanisms remain controversial.

Methods This study systematically synthesizes previous studies to reconstruct the Ediacaran tectono−depositional framework and marine redox conditions in South China and to characterize the distribution, deposit geology, and metallogenic processes of the Doushantuo Formation phosphorite deposits.

Results The results indicate that during deposition of the Doushantuo Formation, South China was characterized by an overall depositional pattern with relatively elevated areas in the west and north and lower areas toward the south, while the margins of the Yangtze Platform exhibited an alternating platform−and−basin configuration. Concurrently, the Ediacaran ocean was characterized by a dynamic redox structure with a euxinic wedge. The Doushantuo phosphorite deposits occur predominantly on shallow−water platforms and along shelf margins, forming four major phosphorite−concentration areas in western Hubei, northwestern Hunan, western Hunan, and central Guizhou. In the western Hubei and central Guizhou phosphorite belts, the phosphorite orebodies are predominantly stratiform, with marked regional variations in ore−bed thickness and ore grade. The ores are dominated by collophane, whereas the gangue minerals consist mainly of dolomite and clay minerals; colloform and granular textures are the predominant ore textures. Phosphorus involved in Ediacaran phosphogenesis was supplied primarily by phosphorus−rich deep waters delivered by upwelling and by terrigenous inputs, whereas hydrothermal fluids may not have constituted a significant source of phosphorus. Within redox transition zones along shallow−platform margins, phosphate was initially concentrated in sediment porewaters through organic−matter degradation and Fe−redox pumping, leading to the precipitation of collophane. Subsequent fragmentation, transport, and redeposition produced granular phosphorites. Microbial phosphorites, in contrast, developed predominantly in peritidal settings, where their formation can be attributed to initial phosphate enrichment processes similar to those responsible for collophane formation, together with the capacity of microbial mats to inhibit the diffusion of phosphate from sediment porewaters into the overlying seawater.

Conclusions Integration of the depositional−tectonic framework, phosphorite sedimentation, and deposit characteristics of the Doushantuo Formation suggests that the Yichang−Shennongjia−Baokang phosphorite districts in Hubei Province, together with the Kaiyang−Wengfu phosphorite districts in central Guizhou, provided favorable environments for phosphogenesis and have considerable potential for further phosphorite exploration.