Abstract:Podiform chromite is a very important strategic resource, and scholars have not an unified understanding of its origin. Previous studies mainly constrained the genesis of chromitite from petrology, geochemistry and geochronology. It is still deficient in systematic summary and research about the inclusion types and their implications on geological processes. According to the detailed study of different chromitite bodies, the mineral inclusions can be divided into five catagories: ① Anhydrous silicate mineral inclusions, including olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, etc.; ② Hydrous minerals, including hornblende, chlorite, serpentine, and apatite; ③ Platinum group minerals (PGM) and sulfides, including Os-Ir alloy, Pt-Fe alloy, natural Os and natural Ir, as well as pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, etc.; ④ Crust source minerals, including zircon, rutile, quartz, calcium chromium garnet, etc.; ⑤ Exotic minerals, including ultra-high pressure minerals such as diamond, moissanite, coesite, and natural nickel, natural chromium, natural iron and natural titanium, etc. Through comparative studies, it is determined that they were formed in different stages, and it is preliminarily proposed that there are four stages of the formation of podiform chromitite, which are the mantle plume/mantle convection in the deep mantle, partial melting/magma crystallization differentiation of the mantle peridotite in the oceanic lithosphere, melt-rock reaction in the super subduction zone, and hydrothermal alteration/fluid modification in the later stage. It is believed that the mineral inclusions in chromitite have recorded the environmental conditions of various periods of chromite formation, and can reveal the formation process of chromitite more accurately.