The Magellan region at the southern tip of South America constitutes the southernmost outpost of Atlantic as well as Pacific shelf and coastal ecosystems. This region may be the beachhead of a forthcoming invasion of Antarctic ecosystems by northerly species which will profit from the climate change driven warming of Antarctic waters. Thus, the current state of Magellan coastal and shelf ecosystems and the way they differ from their Antarctic counterparts is of general interest. Previous comparisons of benthic community biomass and productivity between Magellan and Antarctic shelf areas indicated lower biomass but higher production in the Magellan area. The main objective of the present study is to extend this comparison in terms of spatial coverage (73 stations in the Magellan region and 232 stations in the Antarctic), and to examine the role of major environmental parameters for benthic distribution patterns at either side of the Antarctic circumpolar current.