The latest Campanian to Maastrichtian charophytes in the Jiaolai Basin (Shandong Province, Eastern China), were studied based on taxonomy, palaeoecology and biostratigraphy. Two biozones belonging to the Microchara cristata superzone were recognized, the uppermost Campanian to lower Maastrichtian Microchara gobica zone, and the upper Maastrichtian Microchara prolixa zone. Compared with the Songliao and Pingyi basins, the Jiaolai flora is more similar to the coeval Songliao flora approximately 600-1600 km northeast of the Jiaolai Basin, both sharing similar depositional environments of shallow freshwater lakes and temporary ponds of floodplain with abundant terrestrial inputs. The discovery of Tolypella grambastii Uliana and Musacchio in the Jiaolai Basin added a new locality of this species, previously reported in the Upper Cretaceous of South America (Argentina), North America (Alaska) and the Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene in Northern China. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.