The subsidence and stratigraphic evolution in an eastern section of the Subbetic Zone (External Zones of the Betic Cordilleras, Spain) during Jurassic and early Cretaceous times have been examined. The sediments have been deposited on a passive margin undergoing rifting. The data indicate that the activity was complex and spasmodic, with two distinct rift and post-rift phases. The beginning of the first syn-rift and post-rift phases are recorded by two regional sedimentary breaks, in the Late Carixian and in the Bathonian, respectively. The second rift and post-rift phases began, with less clearly defined limits, during the Oxfordian and at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, respectively.