Magmatism occurred almost continuously over the past 25 m.y. in the Republic of Djibouti. Lavas are mainly basic to intermediate with some rhyolites. Large chemical and isotopic variations among the volcanic series are interpreted in terms of mantle source heterogeneity. Crustal contribution is only evidenced in the oldest rhyolites emplaced during the initial stages of rifting. Excluding these old rhyolites, a clear evolution through time of the mantle sources is observed in relation to rifting. Three sources were involved in the genesis of these lavas: (1) an old subcontinental lithospheric component (87Sr/86Sr≈0.706, 206Pb/204Pb≈17.9), mainly observed in the oldest lavas (25 to 10 Ma), (2) an HIMU (high U/Pb ratio)-type reservoir, and (3) a depleted mantle. As rifting goes on, there is an increasing contribution of an HIMU-type mantle source. It is attributed to the influence of a mantle diapir (Afar plume) thermally eroding the subcontinental lithosphere. The geochemical characteristics of 9 to 1 Ma old lavas, erupted after the strong increase of spreading rate in Afar, reflect this evolution of mantle sources. The influence of the mantle plume is most prominent in the northern youngest lavas (<1 Ma), particularly Manda, characterized by the strongest HIMU signature (87Sr/86Sr≈0.7035, 206Pb/204Pb≈19.2). The contribution of the depleted mantle component originating from the asthenosphere is best recognized in the young (<4 Ma) lavas, particularly Tadjoura and Asal lavas (3 to 1 Ma). The evolution of Djibouti lava sources through time may be accounted for by the recent models developed for plume structure.