Major and trace chemical elements from eleven Lower Pleistocene bentonitedeposits from Eastern Milos Island, Aegean, Greece, were used for geochemical fingerprinting of thebentonites, by means of scatter binary and ternary plots and canonical discriminant analysis. Thetrace elements were selected according to their immobility during bentonite formation andsubsequent hydrothermal alteration. The bentonites can be separated into at least four geographicallydistinct groups, each consisting of materials with similar geochemical affinities. The deposits of eachgroup were derived from protoliths erupted from different volcanic centres, suggesting the existenceof at least two distinct volcanic provinces, having rhyolitic and andesitic affinities respectively.Several deposits consist of more than one bentonite horizon, indicating that in some volcanic centresthe character of volcanism changed with time. Geochemical fingerprinting, supplemented withgeological, mineralogical, and textural evidence, may be useful for correlation and exploration ofbentonites, in terrains with complex geological histories.