A comprehensive literature review was conducted to determine the species richness of all the possible taxa of\u00a0free-living benthic marine invertebrates in Chile. In addition, the extent of endemism to the Pacific Islands\u00a0and deep-sea, the number of non-indigenous species, and the contribution that the Chilean benthic marine\u00a0invertebrate fauna makes to the world benthic marine invertebrate fauna was examined. A total of 4,553\u00a0species were found. The most speciose taxa were the Crustacea, Mollusca and Polychaeta. Species richness\u00a0data was not available for a number of taxa, despite evidence that these taxa are present in the Chilean\u00a0benthos. The Chilean marine invertebrate benthic fauna constitutes 2.47 % of the world marine invertebrate\u00a0benthic fauna. There are 599 species endemic to the Pacific Islands and 205 in the deep-sea. There are 25\u00a0invasive or non-indigenous species so far identified in Chile. Though the Chilean fauna is speciose there is\u00a0still a considerable amount of diversity yet to be described, particularly amongst the small bodied\u00a0invertebrates and from the less well explored habitats, such as the deep-sea.<\/p>\n