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Iron‐rich nodules occur on the Yangtze Platform, South China, especially along the marginal area, during the late Middle and early Late Ordovician (Darriwilian–Sandbian). Based on the study of samples from the Daling section, Anhui Province, these nodules include: (1) oncoids; (2) coated bioclasts; and (3) coated micritic intraclasts, all of which potentially have a similar biological origin. The nodule‐bearing strata were deposited in a midouter ramp setting, indicating sediment starvation and open marine conditions, possibly combined with anoxia in deeper basinal areas and cool water upwelling during the formation of the nodules, rather than terrestrial input or local tectonic movement. The widespread distribution of iron‐rich nodules at this time was probably favoured by high sea level and cooling climate, conditions that simultaneously favoured the evolutionary radiations of the GOBE in South China. Thus, these nodules form a time‐specific signature of a critical time in the evolution of the marine ecosystem in the context of local environmental background along the marginal Yangtze Platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]