Abstract: Compressive tectonic stress is the main stress in foreland basins in western China,where surface and subsurface structures are very complicated.Petroleum exploration and development call for not only the intensive study and prediction of ground stresses but also simple,economical and practical approximate methods.Through a comparative study of the distribution characteristics of the geophysical logging information in the structurally stable field and those in the structural compressive field,a statistical model for determining the maximum principal in-situ stress based on the logging information is proposed.This method is applied in the calculation of the stress in the Kuqa piedmont compressive area of the Tarim basin.The calculated result coincides with the result of the acoustic experiment.On that basis,the relationship between the ground stress distribution and the distribution of petroleum accumulations in piedmont compressive areas is studied.