Abstract: The palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic evolution of the Serres basin from the end of mid-Miocene to the end of the Miocene is examined. Lignites were deposited over a thick sequence of conglomerates and sands. Fossils found in the lignites indicate a lacustrine environment with tropical-subtropical climatic conditions. The climate became progressively drier and only small lakes were reserved during the Messinian salinity crisis. Deposition of lake sediments finally ended with the world-wide Pliocene marine transgression. A correlation of the Serres basin with other lacustrine basins in the Aegean area is attempted.