Kuqa Depression of Tarim Basin is located in piedmont of the southern Tianshan Mountains. Extensive thrust structures developed in the depression because of the intense extrusion in Late Cenozoic. The results showed that: 1) the ceiling structures were common in the structural layer above the salt bed in the foreland thrust belt of Kuqa Depression; 2) the ceiling structure could be classified into faulted type and folded type on the basis of structural elements; and 3) the ceiling structure had ceiling effects, including stress adjustment, decompression effect and seal-capping, which had influenced the tectonic deformation, reservoir evolution and petroleum entrapment of the structure under the salt layer.