In the last three decades, palaeopedology has been used as a critical methodology for the study of fluvial systems, allowing the identification of specific features related to non-depositional times (such as tectonic, climate, topography, and organisms). The Mar & iacute;lia Formation records the distributive fluvial system (DFS) stage of the Bauru Basin (Southeastern Brazil) during the Maastrichtian, dominated by braided river deposits. Based on the relationship between facies and palaeosols, the present work proposes an environmental evolution and estimates the rate of sedimentation and pedogenesis in the Late Cretaceous of Southeast Brazil. By studying bi-dimensional sections, we identified facies associations that compound four main architectural elements: channels (CH), laminated sand sheet (LS), sand bars (SB) and overbank deposits (OF). The sedimentary dynamics were marked by the building and abandoning of channel complexes related to aggradation, carbonate palaeosols generation, clay illuviation, and vegetation growth within the channels. Fifteen palaeosol profiles occur intercalated in the deposits. They are characterised by horizons Bt, Btk, Bss, C, and Ck, which allows a possible general comparison with the present soil orders: Alfisols, Aridisols, Entisols, and Vertisols. The macro- and micromorphological characteristics, combined with the mineralogy of these horizons, indicate arid and semiarid climatic conditions, with the minimum time of profile formation varying from 3740 to 5000 years. The genetic relationship between architectural elements, palaeosols, and the piling pattern suggests that the Mar & iacute;lia Formation resulted from a succession of high-frequency depositional events of 103 to 104 years. This approach may allow an understanding of the avulsion and pedogenesis processes in the distal distributive fluvial systems.