Abstract The Holocene Mekong Delta is a good example of a delta that has evolved from a tide-dominated to a tide–wave mixed-type delta in its shape, sediment facies, and progradation rate during the regression after the maximum flooding during the Holocene. This evolution indicates that tide-dominated deltas developed well in the early phase of the highstand systems tract and that they changed into more wave-dominated deltas in response to subsequent regression. The Mekong Delta, which is located at the southeast tip of the Indochina Peninsula, is one of the largest deltas in Southeast Asia, with a large delta plain ranked third largest in the world. The present Mekong Delta is classified as a tide-dominated delta, but close to a wave-dominated delta, in the triangular deltaic depositional classification system. Two rotary-drilled cores, VL1 and TV1, were obtained from the flood plain and strand plain, respectively, of the delta plain. Detailed core descriptions, high-resolution 14 C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), and topographical analysis of the delta plain indicate that the Mekong Delta evolved from a tide-dominated delta from 6.5 to 2.5 ka to a tide–wave mixed delta from 2.5 ka to the present. The present delta is characterized by beach ridges on the strand plain, dominantly wave-influenced sediments, and a low progradation rate due to longshore sediment dispersal by waves. As the sea level rises, marine flooding causes coastal inundation and the formation of embayments, which amplifies tides and shelters deltas from waves, so that they are more tide dominated. However, as a delta progrades and its shoreline migrates seaward, the resultant smoothed coastline, narrow shelf, and increased wave energy create a more wave-dominated coastal setting. This change will become more pronounced as the delta continues to prograde towards shelf margins.