Hydrogen‐ and oxygen‐isotope analyses of biotite (19), sericite (8), chlorite (2), quartz (27), and total rocks (37) from the Panguna porphyry‐copper deposit on Bougainville Island, place important constraints on the origin of the hydrothermal fluids responsible for mineralization and alteration in the mine region. Early high‐temperature amphibole‐magnetite alteration resulted from magmatic‐hydrothermal fluids. Several lines of evidence indicate 500°C as a realistic average temperature for mineralization, development of quartz veins, and biotitization processes. On the basis of mineral isotope data, responsible fluids could represent either18O‐shifted ground‐waters or magmatic‐hydrothermal fluids at submagmatic temperatures. Independent evidence, as well as total‐rock18O data, support the magmatic‐hydrothermal model.