An annotated checklist, including 18 species of freshwater bivalve belonging to five families, recorded from Botswana and Namibia ,is provided. New morphometric information is provided fo r the species Mutela zambesiensis Mandahl-Barth and Spathopsis petersi (von Martens), and features of shell morphology are illustrated for Pisidium reticulatum Kuiper using stereoscan microscopy. The majority of species occur in the well-watered northerly regions of these countries. Fifty percent of these are widely distributed tropical African species at, or close to, the southerly limit s of their ranges, seven species (39% ) are categorised as general 'southern African', and two species (11%) appear to be confined to the south-central African region. Although no endemic bivalve species are recorded from the study area, further research may show that the large Chambardia from the Kunene River is C. moutai (Dartevelle) and not C. wahlbergi (Krauss) as reported here and that C. moutai may be restricted to the Kunene River. Four species are new to Botswana, namely Chambardia petersi (von Martens ), Coelatura mossambicensis (von Martens), Pisidium reticulation Kuiper and P. viridarium Kuiper, and one species to Namibia, namely: Eupera parasitica (Deshayes). Keywords: Mollusca, bivalves, ecology, checklist, Africa, Namibia, Botswana.