Understanding individual dispersion from offshore natal areas to coastal nurseries during pelagic larval life is especially important for the sustainable management of exploited marine fish species. For several years, the hatching period, the larval life duration, the average growth rate and the otolith chemical composition (d13C, d18O, Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca) during the larval life were studied for young of the year (YOY) of sole collected in three main nurseries of the Gulf of Lions (GoL) (Thau, Mauguio and Berre). We investigated the spatial variation in the origin of the sole larvae which colonised the nurseries around the GoL, and whether temporal differences in environmental conditions during this life stage affected growth and larval life duration. The hatching period ranges from October to March, depending on year and site. Average ages at metamorphosis varied between 43 and 50 days, with the lowest and highest values consistently found for Mauguio and Berre, respectively. Otolith growth rates ranged between 2.7 and 3.2 mm d-1, with the lowest values in Thau and Mauguio and the highest in Berre. Otolith chemical composition during the larval life also varied, suggesting contrasted larval environmental histories in YOY among nurseries. In fishes from Berre and Mauguio, larval life was more influenced by the Rhone River, showing consistently higher larval Ba:Ca ratios (10/23 mmol mol-1) and lower d13C (-6.5/-6.1 pour mille) and d18O values (-1.6/0.1 pour mille) than for Thau (with Ba:Ca ratios < 8 mmol mol_1, d13C ~_2.3 pour mille and d18O ~1.5 pour mille). Differences in larval otolith composition were observed for 2004, with higher Ba:Ca and lower d13C and d18O values than in the two other years. These differences were explained by changes in composition and chemical signatures of water masses after an exceptional flooding event of the Rhone River in late 2003.