The Rabanpalli Formation exhibits two types of shales, viz. grey and calcareous shales. These shales (grey and calcareous) have been analysed for major, trace, and rare earth elements to fi nd out their source rocks characteristics and paleo-oxygenation conditions. The grey shales have higher concentration of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, K₂O, Zr, Th, U, V, Cr, La, Ce, and Y than calcareous shales, whereas calcareous shales are enriched in CaO, Mn, Sr, Ba, Cu, and Zn, which indicate that the carbonate phase minerals are higher in calcareous shales. The positive correlation of K₂O with other elements, and abundance of Al₂O₃, Ba, Th, and Rb suggest that these elements are primarily controlled by the dominant clay minerals. La/Sc, Th/Sc, Th/Co, Th/Cr, and Cr/Th ratios of shales were compared with those of sediments derived from felsic and basic rocks (fi ne fraction), upper continental crust (UCC) and post-Archean Australian average shale (PAAS) ratios, which reveal that these ratios are within the range of felsic rocks. The La/Sc vs. Th/Co plot also suggests the felsic nature of the source rocks. The shales show slightly light rare earth element (LREE) enriched and fl at heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns with negative Eu anomaly, and are similar to the granitoids from Dharwar Craton, which suggest that the Archean Dharwar Craton contributed the sediments to the Bhima basin. The geochemical parameters such as U, authigenic U, U/Th, V/Cr, Ni/Co, and Cu/Zn ratios indicate that these shales were deposited under oxic environment.