The fossil record of drilling predation has been studied in detail for a few major invertebrate groups (bivalves,gastropods, brachiopods, and echinoids), while other prey (e.g., scaphopods, serpulids, decapods, and barnacles)have been largely neglected. Herein, we report on drilling predation using an extensive collection of Cretaceous–Quaternary barnacles (N50,000 specimens). In total, 312 drill holes of predatory origin were found in Eocene–Holocene wall and opercular plates of balanomorph and scalpellomorph barnacles. The drilled specimensoriginated from localities in the USA, Jamaica, Panama, The Netherlands, Belgium, Antarctica, South Africa,Chile, and Venezuela, suggesting that drilling predation on barnacles was a worldwide phenomenon duringthe Cenozoic. Muricid gastropods are the inferred producers of the majority of the drill holes; two drill holeswere likely caused by octopods. Drilling frequencies lack major temporal trends and appear low (b10%), consistentwith observations in modern ecosystems that muricids are facultative drillers and commonly kill barnacleswithout drilling. Drill holes are placed non-randomly in balanomorph wall plates: they occur preferentiallybetween plates in the interplate region, on and around the rostrum, and in the middle part of shell (height-wise). Drill holes in opercular plates occur preferentially in scuta rather than terga despite a notable taphonomic bias:scuta are preserved more frequently than the less robustterga are (2.22:1 based on a bulk sample). Drill holes inwall plates are commonly incomplete (23.4%), but, as documented for extant barnacle prey, successful attackscan be often accomplished via non-penetrative drilling. Also, drill holes are significantly larger in larger barnacles.The results provide limited support for the hypothesis that a reduction in the number of wall plates, tubeswithin wall plates, and strong external sculpture may have evolved as a result of muricid drilling predation ofbalanomorphs during the Cenozoic.