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The Ailaoshan tectonic belt, where the effects of the Paleo-Tethyan ocean evolution and Indian–Eurasian plate collision are superimposed, is one of the most significant geological discontinuities in western Yunnan province of southeast Tibet. An Ailaoshan micro-block within the belt is bounded by the Ailaoshan suture zone to the west and the Red River Fault to the east, and consists of low- and high-grade metamorphic belts. Late Permian–Middle Triassic granitoids that are widely distributed to the west of the Ailaoshan suture zone and within the Ailaoshan micro-block may yield significant information on the Tethyan tectonic evolution of the Ailaoshan tectonic belt. This study reports new LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf isotope data of four granitoids from the Ailaoshan high-grade metamorphic belt. Zircon grains from the Yinjie granitoid do not have inherited cores and yield a weighted mean U–Pb age of 247.1 ± 2.0 Ma. The zircon εHf(t) values range from 7.8 to 12.1, and Hf model ages from 775 to 546 Ma, indicating that the granitoid was derived from juvenile crust. The rims of zircons from the Majie and Yuanjiang granitoids yield weighted mean U–Pb ages of 239.5 ± 1.8 and 237.9 ± 2.6 Ma, respectively, whereas the cores yield ages of 1608–352 Ma. The εHf(t) values of zircon rims range from −20.4 to −5.3, yielding Hf model ages from 2557 to 1606 Ma and suggesting that the source magma of the Majie and Yuanjiang granitoids was derived from ancient crust. An additional granitoid located near the Majie Village yields a zircon U–Pb age of 241.2 ± 1.0 Ma. Based on our geochronological and geochemical data, combined with geological observations, we propose that the Ailaoshan micro-block was derived from the western margin of the Yangtze block, and is comparable to the Zhongzan and Nam Co micro-blocks. The presence of late Permian mafic rocks with rift-related geochemical characteristics within the Ailaoshan micro-block, together with granitoids derived from partial melting of ancient/juvenile crust, indicates the presence of an Ailaoshan rift. This possible rift may correspond to the Ganzi–Litang Ocean to the northwest and the Jinping–Song Da rift to the southeast. It is suggested that westward subduction of the Jinshajiang–Ailaoshan–Song Ma oceanic lithosphere triggered the separation of the Zhongzan, Ailaoshan, and Nam Co micro-blocks from the western passive continental margin of the Yangtze block through the opening of the Ganzi–Litang–Ailaoshan–Jinping–Song Da ocean/rift. This ocean/rift may represent a subsidiary branch of the Paleo-Tethyan Ocean along the western margin of the Yangtze block. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.