Abstract: The spatial distribution of the latest Ordovician Hirnantia fauna in relation with the water depth and temperature gradients has been studied extensively and throughly. However, there has been no specific investigation on the temporal changes of the Hirnantia fauna. Based on the samples from the Kuanyinchiao Formation at Shuanghe, Changning County, southern Sichuan Province, China, we analyze the palaeoecological changes of the Hirnantia fauna using taxonomic diversity and individual density,and the environmental changes in relation with the water depth, oxygen concentration and bioturbation levels throughout the Kuanyinchiao Formation. We also discuss the relationships between the community changes and environmental fluctuations. It shows that community diversity and individual density of the Hirnantia fauna generally increased through time and decreased sharply near the top of the formation immediately after the taxonomic diversity reached its peak. Gradual changes of many environmental factors with the glaciation-induced sea level drop might account for the general palaeoecological trends of the Hirnantia fauna, and later sudden rising of sea level might be the cause of the rapid disappearance of the fauna, but the fluctuation of oxygen concentration or bioturbation levels might alter the structure of brachiopod community dramatically in some situations. 　　This study is based on one locality which was in the deeper water environment during the latest Ordovician. Previous studiesshow that temporal change of the Hirnantia fauna in the shallower water settings might have different patterns, but no specific studies were done at this particular site. Later investigation should compare the temporal patterns of Hirnantia fauna in different areas and under different environmental settings. All these works would contribute to understand how the Hirnantia fauna survived and developed in the relatively stable period between two episodes of the end Ordovician mass extinction.