The species composition and spatial distribution of macrofaunal assemblages in intertidal sands of Arcachon Bay, on the southwestern Atlantic coast of France, were investigated through a quantitative sampling of twenty stations representative of the various sandy habitats found in the bay, excluding the exposed beaches. Sampling was done on a single occasion, during the winter of 1988. A total of 150 macrobenthic species (> 1 mm) were collected. The abundance of macrofauna ranged from 89 to 52000 ind.m-2 (with a high dominance of the gastropod Hydrobia ulvae in some sites) and the biomass ranged from 1.3 to 42.5 g.m-2 dry weight. Thirteen additional species (belonging to temporary meiofauna and small macrofauna) were also sampled in the sieving fraction comprised between 1 mm and 100 mum. In this size fraction, the highest densities were those of H. ulvae juveniles in the inner bay and the small polychaete Parapionosyllis gestans in the outer bay. Mean abundance of total fauna > 100 mum (excluding permanent meiofauna) was about 35000 ind.m-2 in both sheltered and semi-exposed stations. A correspondence analysis of the distribution of species among stations followed by an automatic hierarchical classification identified six benthic assemblages, which were also characterized in terms of species dominance, constancy and fidelity. Two assemblages, corresponding to the boreal Macoma community, were distinguished in the sands at mid-tide level in the inner part of the bay: station-group A was characterized by Neomysis integer and Streblospio shrubsolii, together with a low number of species occurring in low-salinity estuarine waters; station-group B, with Cerastoderma edule, Arenicola marina, and Nereis diversicolor as characteristic species, was a sandy facies of the Macoma community dominated by C. edule. Three other assemblages, each with a high species richness, included several species of the boreal Lusitanian Tellina community: station-group C: a Eunice vittata-Tubificoides benedeni assemblage at lower tidal levels in the central part of the bay; station-group D: a Ruditapes decussatus-Goniada emerita assemblage at mid-tidal levels of the outer bay; station-group E: an Echinocardium cordatum-Magelona mirabilis-Aonides oxycephala assemblage at lower tidal levels of the outer bay. A sixth assemblage (station-group F) was an Ophelia bicornis-Bathyporeia sarsi assemblage in fine dune sands of the outer bay. A discriminant analysis including five environmental variables (tidal level, salinity, sediment median, fine particles and organic contents) revealed the first two variables to be the most important factors in the ordination of stations. With these five variables, only 65 % of the stations were correctly classified in the station-groups identified by correspondence analysis. Among the other possible factors governing the distribution of benthic assemblages, the importance of both exposure and circulation of water masses is stressed. Sheltered stations had a mean biomass of 22.8 g.m-2 dry weight and a mean species richness of 17.7 species; in semi-exposed stations, these values were 11.5 g.m-2 dry weight and 36.1 species.