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Abstract: The climatic evolution of the Altai Mountains (Southern Siberia) has been reconstructed for the last eight centuries from high-resolution analysis of the sediment of Lake Teletskoye. 137Cs and 14C age estimates indicate a mean sedimentation rate of about 1mm/year, with each analyzed sample corresponding to 1–5 year intervals. From sediment analysis and statistical treatments, a model is proposed for a correlation between changes in the sedimentary facies during the past 160 years and climatic parameters based on meteorological records available for this period. By further extending this ‘calibration’ of sedimentary proxy responses over the estimated past 800 years, several distinct intervals indicative of regional climate change are found in Lake Teletskoye records. For instance, from 1210 to 1480 the climate appears to have been warmer and more humid than today. Between 1480 and 1580, regional climate became more cool and arid. Over the interval from 1580 to 1840, climate conditions were cool and arid, whereas after 1840, annual average temperatures seem to have increased. Lithologic responses suggest that several short impulses of drought in the region might have taken place during the past 800 years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]