Since the comprehensive synthesis on the Argentine–Chilean Andes by Mpodozis & Ramos (1989), important progress has been made on the stratigraphy, palaeogeographic evolution and tectonic development of the Andean Orogen in Chile. We present here an overview of this evolution considering the new information and interpretations, including some unpublished ideas of the authors. To enable the reader to delve further into the subjects treated here, we accompany the text with abundant references. In the interpretation of the stratigraphic and radioisotopic data we used the timescale of Harland et al. (1989). During most of its history the continental margin of South America was an active plate margin. The Late Proterozoic to Late Palaeozoic evolution was punctuated by terrane accretion and westward arc migration, and can be described as a ‘collisional history’. Although accretion of some terranes has been documented for the post-Triassic history, the evolution during post-Triassic times is characterized more by the eastward retreat of the continental margin and eastward arc migration, attributed to subduction erosion, and therefore can be described as an ‘erosional history’. The intermediate period, comprising the Late Permian and the Triassic, corresponds to an episode of no, or very slow, subduction activity along the continental margin, during which a totally different palaeogeographic organization was developed and a widely distributed magmatism with essentially different affinities occurred. It is therefore possible to differentiate major stages in the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Chilean Andes, which can be related to the following episodes of supercontinent evolution: (1) post-Pangaea