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Abstract: Clastic sedimentary rocks are samples of the exposed continental crust. In order to characterize the crustal growth history of North China and its possible regional variations, 479 concordant detrital zircons in three sand samples from the lower reach of the Yellow River (which drains the Tibet–Qinghai Plateau, the Western Qinling Orogen, the Qilian Orogen and the North China Craton) and two sand samples from the Luan River and the Yongding River (which run entirely within the North China Craton) were measured for U–Pb age and Lu–Hf isotopic compositions by excimer laser-ablation ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS. Although regional variations exist, concordant detrital zircons from the Yellow River reveal three major age groups of 2.1–2.5Ga, 1.6–2.0Ga, and 150–500Ma. Detrital zircons from the smaller Luan and Yongding Rivers show three broadly similar major age groups at 2.3–2.6Ga, 1.6–2.0Ga, and 140–350Ma, but with narrower age ranges. Compared to the Luan and Yongding River zircons, the Yellow River zircons are characterized by a significant number of Neoproterozoic grains. Although Hf isotopic compositions show both juvenile crustal growth and crustal reworking for all age groups, much of the crustal growth of North China occurred in the Neoarchean and Mesoproterozoic. All three rivers are characterized by a common prominent group of Hf crust formation model ages at 2.4–2.9Ga with a peak at 2.7–2.8Ga. A less significant age group lies between 1.4 and 1.8Ga for the Yellow River, and between 1.6 and 1.9Ga for the Yongding River and Luan River. Crustal growth rates based on Hf continental crust formation model ages suggest 45% and 90% of the present crustal volume was formed by 2.5Ga and 1.0Ga, respectively, for the drainage area of the Yellow River. In comparison, 60% and 98% of the present crustal volume of the North China Craton was generated by 2.5Ga and 1.0Ga, respectively, for the Luan and Yongding Rivers. The 2.7–2.8Ga age peak observed in all river samples agrees well with the coeval major peak for global crustal growth. However, the other suggested global peaks of crustal growth at 3.4 and 3.8Ga are insignificant in North China. Taken together with our previous studies of the Yangtze Craton, which show insignificant crustal growth at 2.7–2.8Ga, we suggest that these advocated worldwide crust formation peaks be re-examined and treated carefully. Our results also show that Phanerozoic zircons may have been derived from crustal sources separated from the mantle up to 2.0Ga ago before the zircons crystallized, suggesting long-term preservation, reworking and recycling of the continental crust. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]