During the Late Glacial recolonization of NW Europe, hunter-gatherers preferably settled in sheltered environments and along river valleys and lake edges. In the Scheldt valley of NW Belgium, however, remains of these Late Glacial settlers are scarce. It is at present not clear whether this scarcity is related to specific taphonomic factors and/or corresponds to a prehistoric reality. Moreover, the few known sites in the Scheldt floodplain all seem to belong to the Younger Dryas (final stage of the Late Glacial), which led to the recent hypothesis of a possible population shift from the inland lakes towards the Scheldt River at the abrupt transition from the warm AllerØd to the extreme cold Younger Dryas. This hypothesis, however, is significantly hampered by the lack of an in-depth assessment of Final Palaeolithic sites in the Scheldt valley.To investigate this apparent scarcity, geoarchaeological research is performed on elevated locations (aeolian dunes) along the floodplain of the Scheldt River and its tributaries that have a high potential for sealed Final Palaeolithic sites. The first step of this research is to reconstruct the formation and age of these dunes by using minimally (manual and mechanical coring) and highly (test-pitting) invasive survey techniques that include sampling for sedimentological analyses (e.g. granulometry, soil micromorphology) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating. Based on these results, systematic archaeological coring surveys are conducted on a selection of these dunes to detect sealed Final Palaeolithic sites and to obtain a better understanding of the hunter-gatherer responses to the changing environment and climate in NW Belgium during the Late Glacial. This paper will present the first results, new insights and challenges of this research project.