Abstract: As a special taxon morphologically,Tilia is the only genus thriving in the northerntemperature zone today in the family Tiliaceae.Taxonomically it is hard to identify onespecies from another due to the diversity and the introgression of the genus.However,ac-cording to the revision of the group by means of comparing the recent Floras of various re-gions,25 species have been recognized as good species,of them l8 in East Asia(incl.Siberia),5 in Europe(incl.West Asia),and 2 in North America.With referenceto the fruit patterns,3 sections,i.e.Sect.Ⅰ.Trichophilyra Vassil,Sect.Ⅱ.Lindera Reichb.and Sect.Ⅲ.Tilia Linn.havc been distinguished.The Tilia fossils found fromthe Tertiarv strata in the Northern Hemisphere reveal the evidence of the evolution path inthe three sections.Contrasting to the modern distribution pattern fossil distribution dis-plays some differences in the following aspects:tilia has once reached 80°northernlatitude,a little more northward than todav;2.Tilia fossils were reported from the hinterland of Asia where no more Tilia survived now;3.Tilia disappeared from the western North America in the late Tertiary,and was recorded in the Quaternary strata of eastern North America.On the basis of modern distribution,fossil evidence,geologic history,palaeoclimate changes and morphological evolution,the authors make an attempt to explain the phenomena and infer the eastern subtropic mountains of Asia as an original area where the ancestor Tilia might have developed during the late Cretaceous.