Abstract The primary objective of this study was to determine the isotopic variation of the sedimentary organic carbon (£_13Corg) in the sediment samples of the gravity core 17950-2. The core was retrieved from the northern South China Sea during ¡§Monitoring Monsoon¡¨ cruise onboard R/V Sonne in 1994. The £_13Corg data were further compared with other proxies, such as foraminiferal £_18O and £_13C, TOC wt%, and CaCO3 wt% to decipher the late Quaternary evolution of climate change from the South China Sea for the last 200 ky. Prior to 65 ka, the £_13Corg, calibrated TOC wt% (TOC ex wt%), and Terrestrial wt% fluctuated synchronously. The increased TOC ex wt% and Terrestrial wt% were consistent with the enriched £_13Corg, implying the enhanced productivity due to the increased terrestrial input. The enhanced glacial productivity could have been caused by the increase in terrestrial input and mixed layer by wind-driven upwelling. The South China Sea, however, is a nitrogen-limited basin. The enhanced nitrogen fixation induced by increased dust input can also be a potential candidate that is responsible for the elevated productivity during glacials. Theoretically, the £_13Corg is utilized as a powerful tool to determine the carbon ratio between marine and terrestrial origin in the shelf area and reconstruct the pCO2 history of the low-productivity open ocean. According to TOC ex wt%, the productivity of the northern South China Sea were significantly higher in glacials than interglacials. Therefore, the variation of pCO2 of the northern South China Sea can not be reconstructed properly based on £_13Corg record solely .