Abstract Recent studies in the Xiaru and Malashan gneiss dome of the Tethyan Himalaya, southern Tibet identify that Xiaru and Paiku tourmaline-bearing leucogranite dike formed at ~ 28–29 Ma. Together with ~ 28 Ma Kuday garnet-bearing leucogranites, it is demonstrated that the Himalayan orogenic belt experienced a major episode of crustal melting in the Mid-Oligocene. Geochemical data indicate that three suites of leucogranite are characterized by large variations in the major and trace element compositions as well as Sr–Nd isotope systematics, which could be explained by combined fractional crystallization and relative contributions of micas and accessory phases dissolved into a crustal melt during decompressional melting of metapelitic rocks. Documentation of Oligocene partial melting of crustal rocks could indicate that the exhumation of deep crustal rocks in the Himalayan orogenic belt could have started as early as Oligocene.