Based on a systematic analysis of gas combustion in railway tunnels in the Dabie Mountain and in combination with the evolutionary features and the development of marine source rocks in the Dabie orogenic belt and the Hefei Basin, it is believed that the Mozitan-Xiaotian and Xinyang-Shucheng faults are deep-rooted and act as pathways for the migration of deep gas. The combustible gas in the railway tunnels are mainly sourced from the marine source rocks in the Cambrian Fengtai Formation underlying the thrust nappe and that in the Cretaceous Beihuaiyang Formation, both of which are overmature. The timing of hydrocarbon generation and trap formation is the focus of study. Therefore, the focus of future exploration should be shifted from the Meso-Cenozoic strata to the deep marine sequences to search for pools with old source rocks and old reservoirs or pools with old source rocks but young reservoirs.