The major and minor elements of source rocks in the Shahejie Formation drilled by Well Fanye-1 in Dongying sag were analyzed systematically in order to clarify the element geochemical characteristics of the source rocks and their geological significance. According to the relation of contents of different elements with Al2O3 and CaO，the elements are classified into 3 different types. The elements of the first class，including Al，Ti，K，Co，Cr，Ga and V，are mainly sourced from terrestrial debris；those of the second class，which consist of Ca，Mg，Mn and Sr，are mainly sourced from lacustrine water；and those of the third class，including Na，Fe，Cd，Ni，Pb，Ba and Zn，are sourced from multiple and complex sources.Based on the genetic difference of the elements，4 parameters including CaO/Al2O3，Sr/Al2O3，Sr/Ba and V/（V+Ni）were preferably selected to set up a vertical comprehensive geochemical section，and the sedimentary environment evolution of the Shahejie Formation was discussed according to the changes of the parameters in the geochemical section. It shows that from the upper Es4 to the middle Es3，the enrichment of the elements sourced from the water gradually decreases and the salinity of the lake water gradually drops，and the reducibility of bottom water is gradually weakened. Based on the variation tendency，both the upper Es4 and the lower Es3 can be subdivided into four smaller sedimentary units where the palaeo-salinity and bottom water redox condition are obviously different.