Peatlands are carbon-rich wetlands that have acted as globally important carbon pools by affecting the atmospheric CO₂ over long timescales. Knowledge of peatland initiation and carbon dynamics can help predict peat carbon fate in the future. Also, understanding relative changes in carbon flux processes will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of carbon cycles and the interaction between peatland and climate. The Zoige peatlands are the most representative peatlands in China. This study presents a data synthesis of peatland basal ages, area changes, carbon accumulation rate variations, and, furthermore, analyzed and separated carbon uptake and release, two important carbon flux processes from the observed peat carbon data in Zoige peatlands during the Holocene. The Zoige peatlands showed initiation peaks at 12000-10000 a and 7000-5000 a. The peat accumulation rates ranged from 0.22 to 1.31 mm/a with a mean value of 0.56 g C m^-2 a^-1. Carbon accumulation rates in Zoige ranged from 13.4 to 77.2 g C m^-2 a^-1, with a mean value of 33.5 g C m^-2 a^-1. The carbon pools were estimated to be 1.4 Pg over the entire Zoige peatlands, with results circumventing the uncertainties of previous studies due to peat sampling depth. The long-term decomposition rate for the Zoige peatlands was 0.00024038/a, which is comparable to the long-term decomposition rate of tropical peatlands, and higher than in northern and southern peatlands. The net carbon balance (NCB) rate of Zoige peatlands had a mean value of 0.087 Tg C/a with a maximum of 0.295 Pg. The Zoige peatlands functioned as a carbon source during 6000-2000 a with a minimum NCB value of -0.034 Pg at 5000-4000 a. Overall, the Zoige peatlands were an important carbon pool, however, with some variability. Our results in this study highlighted the importance of carbon cycle research in the Zoige peatlands, and also provided reference values to guide future studies.