Terrestrial sedimentary systems, as faithful records of the coupling between tectonic and climatic processes, not only reflect the evolutionary history of surface processes but also profoundly influence regional and even global environmental changes through complex feedback mechanisms. The Hailar Basin in Northeast China, as a Quaternary terrestrial basin in an arid-semi-arid region, holds significant importance for understanding the East Asian dust system and response mechanisms to the tectonic and climate through clarifying its geomorphic evolution and aeolian surface processes. The Quaternary fillings in the Hailar Basin, NE China, consist mainly of the Early Pleistocene Baitushan Formation, the Late Pleistocene Hailar Formation, and the Holocene aeolian sand covers. In this study, we present the first detrital zircon UPb geochronological data for the infilling and major river sediments in the Hailar Basin. This study aims to reveal changes in the provenance and surface processes of the Hailar Basin since the Early Pleistocene through zircon age comparison, quantitative results of inverse Monte Carlo, and multidimensional scaling (MDS). By integrating the evolution of sedimentary facies and the depositional ages of various strata, the research further explores the dominant driving mechanisms behind these changes, providing an important reference for sedimentary research on terrestrial basins in Northeast Asia. The results indicate that tectonics and climate jointly influenced the changes in surface processes, including provenance shifts and the formation of the modern Hulunbuir Sandy Land (HLSL). With the uplift of the Great Xing'an Range during the Early Pleistocene (similar to 1.4 Ma), a significant amount of coarse-grained clastics, such as gravels and sands, were transported by major rivers into the basin, resulting in the formation of the Baitushan Formation sediments (with similar to 98 % of the material derived from the Great Xing'an Range). At this stage, climate may exert a slight potential influence on the intensity of source erosion and the rate of sedimentation. In the Late Pleistocene, the uplift of the Great Xing'an Range ceased, leading to the accumulation of fine-grained sediments of the Hailar Formation within the basin and the concurrent development of fluvial-lacustrine landscapes. Meanwhile, the uplift of the Central Mongolia Block (C. MG) and the intensification of the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) resulted in the deposition of a substantial amount of sandy material (25.19-48.5 %) from the C. MG into the basin. Subsequently, the warmer and wetter regional climate increased precipitation and fluvial erosion, leading to the continuous reworking of detrital materials from the C. MG, the basin basement, and the Hailar Formation through the interplay of northwesterly winds and fluvial processes. Ultimately, this process drove the formation of the modern aeolian sands in the HLSL.