Spanish Chileans refer more often to Chileans of post-independence Spanish immigrant descent, as they have retained a Spanish cultural identity. People of pre-independence Spanish descent are usually not considered Spanish Chileans even though they form a large majority of the Chilean population and have Spanish surnames and ancestry. This is because they rejected Spanish identity for the emergent Chilean one on the eve of national independence.

The earliest European immigrants were Spanish colonisers who arrived in the 16th century. They came to form the majority of the population by the time of Chilean independence.^[2] They came mainly from Castile and Andalusia and formed the majority population. The Amerindian population of central Chile was absorbed into the Spanish settler population in the beginning of the colonial period to form the large mestizo population that exists in Chile today; mestizos create modern middle and lower classes. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many Basques from both Spain and France came to Chile where they integrated into the existing elites of Castilian origin.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} Other European nationalities then followed and also became rich and fused with each other and the Basque-Castilian elite to create modern middle and upper classes. At the beginning of the Guano era in 1840s, one of Peru's most prosperous time periods, immigration from Spain greatly increased and the economy was booming and standard of living was high. This era ended in 1866 with the Chincha Islands War wherein anti-Spanish sentiments in Peru also arose in Chile and in which Peru emerged victorious. In 1903, a fleet of 88 Canarian families—400 persons—arrived in Budi Lake, that currently have more than 1,000 descendants, as a response to the government's call to populate this region and signed contracts for the benefit of a private company. While many Canarians obeyed their servitude, some of those who disobeyed the provisions of repopulation tried to escape their servitude and were arrested, and the indigenous Mapuche people took pity on the plight of these Canarians who were established on their former lands. The Mapuches welcomed them and joined their demonstrations in the so-called "revolt of the Canarians", and many Canarians integrated into Mapuche population to add the large mestizo population that exists in Chile.^[10] In the 20th century, there was an influx of refugees of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's regime.(see Winnipeg ship) They have kept their Spanish national identity and set up Spanish clubs throughout the country. The Spanish culture of the original settlers slowly evolved into Chilean folk culture, especially the huaso one, and at the time of independence had abandoned national affiliation with Spain.

This section does not cite any sources. (March 2023)

Today, most Chileans have predominantly Spanish/Basque ancestry. However, unlike most other Spanish-American countries, very few buildings were built by Spaniards during the colonial period. One or two colonial buildings from the later stage of Spanish domination might still be standing in a few cities in central Chile. However, there are two small towns in Chile whose city centre is dominated by Spanish architecture, Cobquecura, near Concepcion, and Yerbas Buenas, near Linares. Because of this exception to the rule, they are protected by the Chilean government as 'places of architectural heritage'. Most houses are American in style, while the old public buildings are French and the newer ones are based on American skycrapers.^{[citation needed]}

• Isabel Allende, writer
• Alejandro Amenábar, film director
• Manuel Blanco Encalada, 1st (provisional) President of Chile (1826), Vice-Admiral in the Chilean Navy
• Matías Cousiño, coal magnate and patriarch of the Cousiño family
• Carlos Díaz, television and film actor
• Javiera Díaz de Valdés, actress
• Karen Doggenweiler Lapuente, journalist, TV hostess
• Roberto Matta, abstract expressionist and surrealist painter
• Jorge Montt, 12th president of Chile (1891–1896), vice-admiral of the Chilean navy
• Carlos Pezoa Véliz, writer
• José Piñera, businessman and politician
• Sebastián Piñera, businessman and President of Chile (2010-2014 and 2018-2022)
• Arturo Prat, Navy officer and national hero
• Carlos Prats, Former Army Commander in Chief
• José Joaquín Prieto, Army General and President of Chile (1831-1841)
• Germán Riesco, President of Chile (1901-1906)
• Carolina Tohá, politician
• José Tohá, politician
• Leonor Varela, actress

They have regional cultural centres in Santiago and other large cities.

• Chile–Spain relations
• White Latin Americans