A tectono-magmatic lull (TML) at 2.4-2.2 Ga in the early Paleoproterozoic is indicated by the global geological record. However, the origin of the TML remains unclear. This study addresses the TML from the perspective of supercontinents and supercratons. A suite of amphibolites, dioritic dikes and granitoids within this age range were reported in the Taihua Complex in the southern margin of the North China Craton. The amphibolites with protolith ages of ca. 2.34 Ga show arc-like trace element distribution patterns, depleted whole-rock Nd-Hf, zircon Hf isotope compositions and high U/Th ratios. All these geochemical features suggest that the amphibolite protoliths were produced by partial melting of enriched mantle generated through fluid metasomatism. The ca. 2.27 Ga dioritic dikes show arc-like trace element patterns, enriched zircon Hf isotope compositions and high Th/Yb ratios. These observations indicate that the dioritic dikes were derived from partial melting of enriched mantle metasomatized by terrigenous sediment-derived melts. Compared to earlier mafic rocks, the Paleoproterozoic mafic magmas have lower melting temperatures and pressures, but higher T/P ratios, suggesting thinning of the lithospheric mantle. The ca. 2.33 Ga granites have chondritic whole-rock Hf-Nd isotopes, neutral zircon εHf(t) values, high zircon saturation and Ti-in-zircon temperatures, indicating that they were formed by remelting of early Archean crust under high temperatures. Altogether these rocks record a continental rifting event during the TML. Combined with the reworked detrital zircon Hf isotope composition, the high T/P metamorphism and lower rates of plate motion during the TML, we propose that the extension regime was globally dominant during the TML. The decrease in global zircon numbers during the TML is similar to the troughs after the assembly of Nuna/Columbia and Rodinia. The cratons with magmatism during the TML belong to the Sclavia or Nunavutia supercraton which broke in the Paleoproterozoic whereas those without magmatism during the TML belong to the Supervaalbara supercarton, which remained stable during the lull. In this regard, the intrinsic cause of the TML is the limited magmatism in response to the breakup of one supercraton and the stability of other supercratons.