古生物学是研究古生物分类、生态、起源与演化的基础学科，而与古生物学密切相关的地层学则研究地壳物质的形成顺序、时空更替、环境变迁和地壳发展的阶段及其规律。古生物学与地层学是地质学研究领域的一门重要的基础学科，通过对保存于地层中的各类化石的形态、结构、生态、分类、演化及地史分布等特征的分析，结合多学科综合研究手段，查明地层成因、时空分布，进行地层的划分和对比，建立区域地层系统格架，恢复古地理、古环境。古生物学及地层学的研究成果不仅具有重要的科学意义，而且也是沉积矿藏勘探与开发的必备资料。
本学科的主要研究领域侧重以下两个方面：古生物学与地层学在油气田勘探开发领域的应用性研究，海洋微体古生物学及其在海洋地质学研究中的应用，有如下几个研究方向：地层学与油气地质，海洋微体古生物学、古海洋学。
Paleontology is a basic subject which focuses on the study of palaeontological classification, ecology, origin and evolution. Stratigraphy, which correlates with Paleonthology, studies the forming orders,evolution in time and space and crust development and their disciplines. Paleontology and Stratigraphy is a basic subject in the study field of geology. It emphases and assigns relative ages of rock strata by using the shapes, structures, ecology and classification and evolution of fossil assemblages contained within them. Usually the aim is correlation, demonstrating that a particular horizon in one geological section represents the same period of time as another horizon at some other section. There are two aspects in this subject: application studies in the fields of (1) oil-gas exploration and development, and (2) marine micro-paleontoloyg and marine geology.
