Abstract The Dabieshan Orogenic Belt, which contains ultra-high-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, is the Mesozoic collision zone between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons. With respect to the exhumation of the UHP rocks, the Dabieshan Orogenic Belt can be divided into four units, i.e. allochthonous, parautochthonous, autochthonous and reworked units. The allochthonous unit is composed of UHP rocks. The parautochthonous unit is represented by the non-UHP rocks of the Yangtze sedimentary cover and crystalline basement, as well as an accretionary wedge. The autochthonous unit includes Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary and igneous rocks. The reworked unit is characterized by migmatization. The deep structure of the Dabieshan Orogenic Belt is characterized by a Moho offset and dome structure in the middle and upper crust, as recording a compressional state. A northward subduction of the Yangtze craton is evidenced by geological, geophysical and geochemical data. In the formation of the Dabieshan orogenic belt, a precondition is the low density of the subducted continental materials. If the UHP unit is the piston to build up the orogenic belt, then the continuous compression between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons is the motor to trigger the mountain-building processes.