A seismic reflection transect crossing the central East Greenland continental margin south of the Scoresby Sund fjord system provides information regarding the long-term history of expansion and retreat of the Inland Ice. The shelf and slope sediments can be divided into three first-order units; the upper unit is interpreted to have a glacial origin. Within the up to 1000-m-thick glacial unit, six sequences were identified, representing at least as many phases of extensive ice sheet grounding on the shelf. Varying amounts of progradation and aggradation probably reflect successive phases in the glacial evolution of the region. © 1995 Springer-Verlag.