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Reconstructing the precise timing of sea level fall is important for understanding earth system during the geologic time. However, previous studies are limited by the absence of effective indicators for sea level fall. To overcome this limitation, we investigated the 87Sr/86Sr and petrologic features of carbonate strata in a 928.75-m-long coral reef core (CK2) from Xisha Islands, northern South China Sea and their relationship to sea level fluctuations. Ten exposed surfaces were identified by their petrologic features. The Mn and Sr content, Mn/Sr, Sr/Ca and δ18O suggest that most of the coral reef carbonate in the CK2 core preserved the original seawater 87Sr/86Sr except at intervals of 672–616, 596–575, 521–491, 423–414, and 192.5–161 m, which suffered alteration of meteoric water and showed higher 87Sr/86Sr during low sea level period. The 160 carbonate 87Sr/86Sr showed a continuously increasing trend, which is consistent with that of seawater over the same period. The continuously increasing 87Sr/86Sr curve of CK2 was divided into seven units by six 87Sr/86Sr hiatuses. Inconsistency between the sedimentation rate of CK2 and tectonic subsidence rate in the Xisha area suggest that the continuously increasing 87Sr/86Sr was controlled by the coupled effect of tectonic subsidence and sea level change, and the hiatus and higher 87Sr/86Sr interval in the 87Sr/86Sr curve were controlled by sea level fall. The higher 87Sr/86Sr usually produced during low sea level (<5 m), 87Sr/86Sr hiatus usually produced when sea level changed from deeper to shallower. The depth of hiatuses and higher intervals of 87Sr/86Sr correspond well with the exposed surface in CK2 core, verifying that the hiatuses and higher intervals of 87Sr/86Sr in the coral reef carbonate succession provide an effective indicator of sea level fall. Using this indicator and the CK2 87Sr/86Sr profile, we identified eleven large-scale sea level falls and three dramatic regressions during 19.6–0.2 Ma and constrained the age based on strontium isotope stratigraphy. These interpreted sea level falls are mostly consistent with other records of global sea level changes, confirming the reliability of our records. The 87Sr/86Sr profile of a coral reef carbonate is an efficient indicator of past sea level falls, including their timing. • 87Sr/86Sr ratios of carbonate in a coral reef core from Xisha Islands. • The core indicated five hiatuses and six anomalously high ratios in Sr isotope. • Hiatus and high ratios in reef carbonate Sr isotope were produced by sea level fall. • Eleven major lower sea level and three dramatic regressions found during 19.6–0.2 Ma. • This method provides an effective indicator of past sea level fluctuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]