Analysis of the locus, style, and rate of faulting is fundamental to understanding thekinematics of continental deformation. The Ordos Plateau lies to the northeast of Tibet, within theIndia-Eurasia collision zone. Previous studies have suggested that it behaves rigidly and rotatesanticlockwise within a large-scale zone of ENE-WSW left-lateral shearing. For this rotation to beaccommodated, the eastern and western margins of the Ordos Plateau should be undergoing right-lateralshearing and yet the dominant faulting style appears to be extensional. We focus specifically on thekinematics of the faults bounding the western margin of the Ordos Plateau and make new slip rateestimates for two of the major faults in the region: the right-lateral strike-slip Luoshan Fault and thenormal-slip East Helanshan Fault. We use a combination of infrared stimulated luminescence dating ofoffset landforms with high-resolution imagery and topography from the Pleiades satellites to determinean average right-lateral slip rate of 4.3 ± 0.4 mm/a (1 uncertainty) on the Luoshan Fault. Similarly,we use10Be exposure dating to determine a vertical throw rate on the East Helanshan Fault of<0.6 ± 0.1 mm/a, corresponding to an extension rate of <0.7 ± 0.1 mm/a (1 uncertainty). Both ofthese results agree well with slip rates determined from the latest campaign GPS data. We thereforeconclude that right-lateral shearing is the dominant motion occurring in the western Ordos region,supporting a kinematic model of large-scale anticlockwise rotation of the whole Ordos Plateau.