Abstract: The Bering Sea is the largest marginal sea in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with a history embraced the Cenozoic. The origin and tectonic evolution of the Bering Sea are very important for the understanding of the western Pacific marginal sea. Since the Late Cretaceous, the Bering Sea area has been affected by the subduction of the northern Pacific Ocean, the spreading of the Arctic Ocean and the southwestward movement of the North American Plate. We analyzed key geological evidence, including research findings from geophysical, geochemical, and geochronological studies, and propose the following evolutionary history of the Bering Sea: (1) From the Late Cretaceous to the Early Eocene, the old Pacific Plate (Kula Plate) subducted northward along the Bering Sea shelf to the south of the Alaskan Peninsula; (2) During the Eocene, the subduction of the Pacific Plate jumped from the northern margin of the Bering Sea shelf to the Aleutian Arc, and the residual Kula Plate formed the Aleutian Basin. The complex deformation of the Aleutian Basin formed the prototype of the Shirshov Ridge; (3) From the Late Eocene to the Oligocene, the Aleutian Plate subducted beneath Bowers Ridge, and led to the formation of the Bowers volcanic arc and the Bowers back-arc basin; (4) During the Miocene, oblique subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Aleutian Arc led to right-lateral slab tearing, resulting in asthenosphere upwelling and the opening of the Kamchatka Basin.