Molecular stratigraphical, carbonate carbon isotopic, stratigraphical and paleontological data show that algal booming, eutrophication, anoxia, hypersalinity, positive ( 13C excursion and biomass decreasing occurred in the offshore carbonate environments of the Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) transition, which hints that red tide might frequently take place in the F-F transition of Guangxi, South China. We suggest that the mass extinction of the reef ecosystems and the shallow-water marine organisms in the F-F transition of the lower-middle latitudes may be related to the frequent occurrence of red tide in that time.