The Cauvery Basin is situated in the southeastern part of the Indian craton. It is a failed rift sandwiched between Peninsular India and Sri Lankan massif, formed by the fragmentation of eastern Gondwanaland. Numerous down-to-basin extensional step faulting occurred in the Cauvery Basin, resulting in a horst-graben setting. The stratigraphic record of this basin represents various depositional sequences representing syn-rift, post-rift and passive margin settings ranging from the Upper Jurassic to the present day. Biostratigraphic and geochemical evidence elucidate the end of rifting close to the top of Albian. A three-dimensional basin modelling of the region has been attempted by integrating horizons, faults, and details on sources, reservoirs, and cap rocks to understand the Petroleum Systems in the Basin. Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous (Albian) sequences are the main source rocks in the Cauvery Basin based on various geochemical studies; the same has been established through the Petroleum System analysis. Main hydrocarbon generation maturity window is located approximately 2000 m depth, which varies in different sub-basins. The evaluation of the 3D basin model suggests the presence of three petroleum systems, viz. Upper Jurassic—Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous/Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene (!), Lower Cretaceous—Lower Cretaceous /Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene (!) and Upper Cretaceous—Upper Cretaceous (.). Source rocks attained the Critical Moment from the Lower Cretaceous onwards and contributed to the hydrocarbon accumulations in the basin. This study indicates that the hydrocarbons are thermogenic, corroborating the known discoveries. Established hydrocarbon plays in the onshore part of the Cauvery Basin range from the Basement to Oligocene age. Only three plays have been proven in the shallow offshore part of the Cauvery Basin: Basement, Turonian, and Santonian-Campanian. In the deep offshore part of the basin, the hydrocarbon play is of Albian age.