A 12.4 m core collected from the eastern part of Lake Bangong provided a continuous Holocene record. This core was analyzed for diatoms, ostracods, charophytes, content in total organic carbon and identification of organic particles contained in the sediments. The record is remarkable for the abundance and diversity of its microorganisms. An oligo- to mesosaline marsh occupied the core site before 9.5 ka B.P. Bangong was most likely closed. A sudden filling of the lake basin by dilute, nutrient-poor water occurs around 9.4 ka B.P. Maximum lake extent seems to have occurred around 9.4-8.7 ka B.P. Generally freshwater, relatively deep conditions were maintained up to 6.3 ka B.P., although interrupted by short-term regressive events between 8.6 and 7.5 ka B.P. A trend towards palustral conditions begins after 6.3 ka B.P. and the interval 3.9-3.2 ka B.P., rich in detrital organic material, coincides with an extremely low lake level. A last lacustrine episode of minor amplitude is recorded from about 3 to 2 ka B.P., before the closure of the system leading again to slightly saline conditions. The resemblances and synchronism between environmental changes recorded at Bangong and in Lake Sumxi, situated 200 km northwards and 800 m higher in elevation, indicate that regional climatic changes have been the major driving factor on ecological and hydrobiological changes in lakes of western Tibet. © 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.