Abstract:This paper presents an overview of the fundamentals, techniques, influencing factors, and applications of the apatite (U-Th)/He dating method. (U-Th)/He dating of apatite is a newly developed low-temperature thermochronometry and has been gradually applied to different geological aspects, such as dating, tectonics, geological thermal history and paleotopography. The closure temperature of the apatite (U-Th)/He age is only about 75℃, which is lower than that of any other known technique, suggesting that apatite He age provides some information on the final stages of cooling. By combining apatite (U-Th)/He with other methods such as feldspar multidomain thermochronometry and fission track technique, more detailed and robust cooling histories may be obtained. Compared with other techniques, the attractions of the apatite He method lie in sensitivity to previously inaccessible temperature ranges, high precision and less sample mass. Although this technique remains at the developing stage, it may after all beaccepted as a quite effective method for the low-temperature thermochronology. It is noted that this field is growing rapidly, and what is presented in this paper is likely to be superseded in the coming years.