This report provides a reconnaissance-scale assessment of bulk mineralogy and clay mineral assemblages in sediments and sedimentary rocks that are entering the Hikurangi subduction zone, offshore North Island, New Zealand. Samples were obtained from three sites drilled during Leg 181 of the Ocean Drilling Program (Sites 1123, 1124, and 1125) and 38 piston/gravity cores that are distributed across the strike-length of the margin. Results from bulk-powder X-ray diffraction show large variations in normalized abundances of total clay minerals and calcite. The typical lithologies range from clay-rich hemipelagic mud (i.e., mixtures of terrigenous silt and clay with lesser amounts of biogenic carbonate) to calcareous mud, muddy calcareous ooze, and nearly pure nannofossil ooze. Basement highs (Chatham Rise and Hikurangi Plateau) are dominated by biocalcareous sediment, whereas most deposits in the trench (Hikurangi Trough and Hikurangi Channel) and on the insular trench slope are hemipelagic. Clay mineral assemblages (<2 µm) change markedly as a function of geographic position. Sediment entering the southwest side of the Hikurangi subduction system is enriched in detrital illite (>60 wt%) relative to chlorite, kaolinite, and smectite. Normalized proportions of detrital smectite increase significantly toward the northeast to reach values of 40–55 wt% offshore Hawkes Bay and across the transect area for Expeditions 372 and 375 of the International Ocean Discovery Program.