Granulites represent high-grade metamorphic rocks of the deep continental crust. The metamorphism and exhumation of granulites from Archean terranes provide insights into the crustal evolution of Archean cratons and shed light on the formation and reactivation of cratons. We present petrology, U–Pb geochronology (zircon, rutile, and titanite), and pressure-temperature (P–T) paths for metadiabase dikes in a deep-seated Archean granulite terrane of the North China Craton. Garnet (Grt) coronae in the metadiabase dikes are developed between plagioclase (Pl) and clinopyroxene (Cpx) via the reaction Pligneous + Cpx → Pl1 + Grt ± quartz. The reaction proceeds inward within the plagioclase, progressively consuming Pligneous (XAn = 0.65–0.69) and leaving Ca-poor Pl1 (XAn = 0.46–0.53) as the residue. Geothermobarometry and P–T pseudosections suggest peak conditions for garnet formation at 800–850 °C and 10–12.5 kbar. During retrograde metamorphism, Grt broke down to Ca-rich Pl2 (XAn = 0.73–0.74), and ilmenite replaced rutile. Geothermobarometry suggests the P–T conditions of retrograde metamorphism as 700–750 °C and 4.5–7.5 kbar. Zircon and titanite U–Pb geochronology shows that the protolith of metadiabase dike was formed at 2.4 Ga and underwent granulite-facies metamorphism at 1.86 Ga. The intrusion of mafic dikes into the Archean granulite terrane indicates that the Archean basement was also heated and buried in Paleoproterozoic. The metadiabase dikes and the hosting Archean basement underwent Paleoproterozoic granulite-facies metamorphism at a depth of ~ 40 km, followed by near-isothermal decompression and subsequent near-isobaric cooling at depths of 15–25 km. Crustal shortening and thickening may have been caused by the underplating of the Khondalite series beneath the Archean basement during the amalgamation of supercontinent Columbia. The Paleoproterozoic orogeny induced a second-generation metamorphism of the Archean basement along the margin of the craton and drove the exhumation of the Archean granulite terranes to the middle crust.