The earthquake area in North China Plain is one of the main seismic active areas in China. The Yellow River Delta is located in the earthquake zone of North China Plain, with complex geological structure and strong tectonic activity. The main active fault zones include the NNE-trending Tanlu fault zone, the NNE-trending Hebei Plain fault zone and the NW-trending Yanshan-Bohai fault zone, and the Yellow River Delta is located in the middle of these three fault zones. Controlled by fault structures, a series of faults and uplifts developed in this area, including Jizhong Depression, Linqing Depression, Cangxian Uplift, Huanghua Depression, Chengning Uplift, Jiyang Depression, Bohai Depression and Luxi Uplift from west to east. The differential tectonic movement between these fault zones and fault depression uplift is an important factor causing seismic activity in this area, which is characterized by frequent earthquakes and regional characteristics in the edge areas of fault zones and fault depression uplift with strong tectonic movement.

Jiyang depression, where the Yellow River Delta is located, is a relatively stable area of neotectonic movement. In Jiyang depression, although there are a series of secondary faults and faults-controlled bulges and depressions, the activity of these structures is generally weak, and the control effect on earthquakes is not obvious. According to historical records, there are only two earthquakes of magnitude 4 and 1 earthquake of magnitude 5 in Jiyang depression. It can be seen that the earthquake risk in the Yellow River Delta mainly comes from the influence of strong earthquake activity in adjacent seismic tectonic zones.

The principal compressive stress axis and principal stress axis in the Yellow River Delta are in the same direction as the stress field in North China. In this stress field, the fault activity is mainly NNE right-lateral strike-slip fault activity, accompanied by a small amount of conjugate NNW left-lateral fault activity. The gravity anomaly in this area is high in the east and low in the west.

According to historical records, since 692 AD, there have been 54 felt earthquakes in the Yellow River Delta, including 14 earthquakes in this area. The future earthquake risk mainly comes from the Tan-Bohai and Yanshan-Bohai seismic belts, especially the Bohai section in the Tan-Bohai seismic belt, which is the intersection of the two seismic belts.