The aim of this study was to assess distribution patterns of articulate brachiopods during the Mesozoic. Exploratory and confirmatory multivariate analyses in this study evaluate whether environmental preferences of brachiopods and bivalves are substantially distinct and whether structure of their communities significantly differ. Specifically, the hypothesis being tested is that differential abundances of Mesozoic brachiopods and bivalves are not related to varying substrate properties only, but also to varying food supply, turbidity and oxygen levels. This hypothesis was evaluated with quantitative data gathered in various field areas and time intervals. They include the Upper Triassic deposits of the West Carpathians and Eastern Alps, the Lower and Middle Jurassic deposits of Morocco, the Middle and Upper Jurassic deposits of the West Carpathians, the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Franconian and Swabian Alb, and the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Swiss Jura. The main conclusion is that brachiopod-dominated communities are characterized by a unique guild structure, with dominance of trophic groups with low metabolic requirements or adapted to nutrient-poor or oxygen-poor conditions. For example, brachiopod co-occured more commonly with epifaunal than with infaunal bivalves in soft-bottom environments. Abundances of brachiopods correlate mostly negatively with increasing proportions of terrigenous admixture (i.e., with increasing amount of land-derived nutrient supply and turbidity).