This database includes over 7,100 georeferenced occurrence records of sea urchins (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) obtained from samples collected in the Southern Ocean (+180 degrees W/+180 degrees E; -35 degrees/78 degrees S) during oceanographic cruises led over 150 years, from 1872 to 2015. Echinoids are common organisms of Southern Ocean benthic communities. A total of 201 species is recorded, which display contrasting depth ranges and distribution patterns across austral provinces and bioregions. Echinoid species show various ecological traits including different nutrition and reproductive strategies. Information on taxonomy, sampling sites, and sampling sources are also made available. Environmental descriptors that are relevant to echinoid ecology are also made available for the study area (-180 degrees W/+180 degrees E; -45 degrees/-78 degrees S) and for the following decades: 1955-1964, 1965-1974, 1975-1984, 1985-1994 and 1995-2012. They were compiled from different sources and transformed to the same grid cell resolution of 0.1 degrees per pixel. We also provide future projections for environmental descriptors established based on the Bio-Oracle database (Tyberghein et al. 2012).