The distribution of benthic foraminiferal microfauna recovered from two cores on the Maroni continental shelf (French Guiana) has been studied. 1 00 species and two types of foraminiferal assemblages have been identified in the study area. They characterize a record of oceanographic changes from lateQuaternary (3000 years B.P) to the present The assemblage of unit 2 indicates a shelf environment with strong erosion (deeper core KS 33), also an old lagoon with temporary anoxy events (shallower core KS 34). The modern assemblage (unit 1) shows the rise of sea-level up to modem situation, that implicated the flooding of the lagoon and the reinstauration of the shelf conditions in the studied area