Abstract Magmatism in the Chilean Andes has taken place since about 300 Ma as a consequence of protracted subduction, although with significant spatial and temporal variations due to changes in ocean-floor geodynamics controlling distinct large-scale magmatic events. Early subduction along the Chilean segment of the Gondwana active margin took place during Late Palaeozoic times and generated typical arc magmatism and a subduction complex in the forearc environment. This tectonomagmatic regime was interrupted by mid-Permian contractional tectonics (collisional?) giving rise to a thickening of the crust that allowed deep crustal melt generation. Following this the entire Mesozoic history of the area became dominated by subduction-related extensional tectonics with mostly bimodal magmatism reflecting the involvement, to different degrees, of both crust and mantle as magma sources. Mesozoic volcanism and plutonism appear to have been independent of each other. Subsequent Cenozoic magmatism records changing geodynamic conditions from Palaeogene–early Neogene extension to late Neogene compression. The Neogene magmatic episodes are interpreted as an indirect consequence of oceanic ridge subduction: the Juan Fernández Ridge along the north-central Chilean margin, and the Chile Ridge along the southernmost Chilean border. Modern volcanism is also influenced by these ridge subductions, either by generating gaps in the Quaternary volcanic chain, or adakitic volcanism derived from slab melting. Despite the essentially tectonic control outlined above, this chapter is subdivided geographically into four Andean segments, each of which exhibits distinct magmatic features. These segments are: 18–28°S, 28–38°S, 40–47°S and 47–55°S. The exception to this approach is the section on Quaternary volcanism, which