Major orogenic belts on the earth’s surface have been generated by deformational processes either along the convergent plate boundaries due to subduction of the oceanic crust (such as the Pacific-type subduction-related orogeny) or due to continent–continent collision (such as Alps and the Himalayas). Such orogenic belts are wide, extend for hundreds of kilometres, and are structurally complex. Observing the orogenic belts structurally in the field, and understanding how, when, and under what conditions they form, requires extensive petrological, textural, and geochemical investigations. Such work helps us understand the processes that are actively involved in the geodynamic evolution of the orogenic belts. The special issue in LITHOS presents scientific results of papers presented at the international symposium ‘Oceanic and Continental Subduction Processes’ of the JpGU–AGU Joint Meeting 2017 and 2018, and several otherworks related to the themeof the special issue.