Oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses have been carried out on calcareous nannofossils from core MD97-2140 in the Western Pacific Warm Pool. The results demonstrate that the delta (super 18) O values of calcareous nannofossils for the past 1.75 Ma vary systematically with delta (super 18) O values of planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber from the same core. The delta (super 18) O records of calcareous nannofossils show a dominant 41 ka peak between 1478 and 900 ka and a 100 ka peak between 850 and 6 ka, and 59 isotope stages can be recognized. The similarities between delta (super 18) O records of planktonic foraminifera and nannofossils imply that calcareous nannofossil delta (super 18) O can also play an important role in stratigraphic and palaeo-oceanographic studies. The delta (super 13) C records of nannofossils can be divided into four major stages at 900 ka, 480 ka and 250 ka. The trends in nannofossil delta (super 13) C records from MD97-2140 are similar to primary productivity variations at ODP Site 807, also located in the Western Pacific Warm Pool, indicating that nannofossil delta (super 13) C can be used as an indicator of sea-surface palaeoproductivity.