Located at the interface between terrestrial and marine systems, high latitude glaciated fjords are sensitive spots to current and past climate change. Kongsfjorden is located on the western part of the Svalbard archipelago and is characterized by steep environmental gradients, due to the dynamics of the tidewater glaciers, and the inflow of warm Atlantic Water (AW). Here we analyze fossil benthic foraminiferal assemblages in two main sediment cores in order to reconstruct past environmental changes in link with these environmental gradients. Sediment core 10JM-GLACIBAR-GC01, located in front of a surge-type tidewater glacier (Kronebreen complex) in the inner Kongsfjorden, represents a historical record spanning the period from 1950 to 2010 AD. In this record, we tested relationships between taxonomic and functional diversity metrics and the reconstructed distance from the glacier front. We observed a general increase in foraminiferal fluxes and diversity with the progressive glacier retreat, confirming a positive benthic response to reduced glacier-induced disturbance through time. This historical record confirms therefore the successful use of diversity metrics as proxies for tidewater glacier retreat. A study of a second sediment core, NP07-13/58-GC, spanning the last 3000 years and located in the central Kongsfjorden, was initiated to reconstruct the two end-members relationship between AW inflow and glacier retreat using benthic foraminiferal assemblages and diversity metrics applied in the historical record. The preliminary results show that until 1.6 cal ka BP and between 800 and 500 yrs cal BP, a low diversity and high relative abundances of glacier proximal species characterized the assemblages. According to the developed diversity metrics models, this suggests that the glacier grounding line/ice sheet was advanced by about 10 km compared to its position during the mid XXth century. From 1.6 to 0.8 cal ka BP and between 500 and 200 yr cal BP, taxonomic diversity increased, suggesting decreased glacial influence at the core site (in the central Kongsfjorden). Additionally, the most recent part of the record (500 – 200 yr cal BP) recorded increased relative abundance of the AW indicator Adercotryma glomeratum, suggesting increased influence of the AW carried by the West Spitsbergen Current in the central Kongsfjorden. These ecological observations need further investigations and comparison with published studies from Kongsfjorden and other Svalbard fjords. Investigations with multivariate analyses and Generalised Additive Models could help better interpret the patterns observed in term of species composition and general diversity.