The following members have rendered outstanding services to the Paläontologische Gesellschaft or Palaeontology.
| 2017 | Prof. Dr. Jörg W. Schneider, Freiberg/Sa. |
| 2014 | Prof. Dr. Axel von Hillebrandt, Berlin |
| 2013 | Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Vogel, Frankfurt a.M. |
| 2012 | Prof. Dr. Friedrich Schmid-Wallis, Gottmadingen, † 2018 |
| Dr. phil. Rudolf Kaufmann (posthumous) | |
| 2011 | Prof. Dr. Wighart von Koenigswald, Bonn |
| Dr. Hans-Dietrich Maronde, Bonn, † 2016 | |
| 2009 | Prof. Dr. Klaus J. Müller, Bonn, † 2010 |
| Prof. Dr. Otto H. Walliser, Göttingen, †2010 | |
| 2008 | Prof. Dr. Wolf-Ernst Reif, Tübingen, † 2009 |
| 2006 | Prof. Dr Hans-Peter Schultze, Lawrence, Kans. |
| 2005 | Prof. Dr. Gerold Wefer, Bremen |
| 2004 | Prof. Dr. Fritz F. Steininger, Frankfurt a.M |
| 2003 | Prof. Dr. Wilfried Krutzsch, Berlin |
| 2002 | Dr. h.c. Hans Hagdorn, Künzelsau |
| 2001 | Prof. Dr. Dietrich Herm, Munich |
| 2000 | Prof. Dr. Erik Flügel, Erlangen, † 2004 |
| 1999 | Prof. Dr. Friedrich Strauch, Münster †2020 |
| Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ziegler, Stuttgart, † 2013 | |
| 1997 | Prof. Dr. Helmut W. Flügel, Graz, † 2017 |
| Prof. Dr. H. Walther, Dresden, † 2013 | |
| Prof. Dr. Willi Ziegler, Frankfurt a.M., † 2002 | |
| 1995 | Dr. Eva Paproth, Krefeld |
| Prof Dr. Adolf Seilacher, Tübingen, † 2014 | |
| 1992 | Prof. Dr. Erich Thenius, Vienna |
| Dr. Franz K. Goerlich, Wachtberg, † 2016 | |
| 1991 | Prof. Dr. Ulrich Lehmann, Hamburg, † 2004 |
| 1990 | Prof. Dr. Heinrich Karl Erben, Bonn, † 1997 |
| Prof. Dr. Heinrich Hiltermann, Bad Laer, † 1998 | |
| 1989 | Prof. Dr. Arno Hermann Müller, Freiberg/Sa., † 2004 |
| Dr. Herta Schmidt, Braunfels, † 1992 | |
| Prof. Dr. Helmuth Zapfe, Vienna, † 1996 | |
| 1987 | Dr. Herta Sieverts-Doreck, Stuttgart, † 1991 |
| Prof. Dr. Helmut Hölder, Stuttgart, † 2014 | |
| Dr. h.c. Rudolf Mundlos, Bad Friedrichshall, † 1988 | |
| 1985 | Prof. Dr. Heinz Tobien, Mainz, † 1993 |
| 1984 | Prof. Dr. Richard Dehm, Munich, † 1996 |
| 1983 | Prof. Dr Martin F. Glaessner, Adelaide, † 1989 |
| 1979 | Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Schäfer, Frankfurt a.M., † 1981 |
| 1973 | Prof. Dr. Alfred Eisenack, Tübingen, † 1982 |
| Prof. Dr. Ehrhard Voigt, Hamburg, † 2004 | |
| 1972 | Prof. Dr. Emil Kuhn-Schnyder, Zurich, † 1994 |
| Prof. Dr. Walter R. Gross, Tübingen, † 1974 | |
| 1969 | Prof. Dr. Curt Teichert, Lawrence, Kans., † 1996 |
| 1965 | Prof. Dr. Othmar Kühne, Vienna, † 1969 |
| Prof. Dr. Raymond Cecile Moore, Lawrence, Kans., † 1974 | |
| 1962 | Dr. Tilly Edinger, Cambridge, Mass., † 1967 |
| Prof. Dr. Jurij A. Orlow, Moscow, † 1966 | |
| Prof. Dr. Otto Heinrich Schindewolf, Tübingen, † 1971 | |
| 1958 | Prof. Dr. Werner Janensch, Berlin, † 1969 |
| Prof. Dr. Roman Kozłowski, Warsaw, † 1977 | |
| 1957 | Prof. Dr. Alfred Bentz, Hannover, † 1964 |
| Prof. Dr. Hermann Schmidt, Göttingen, † 1978 | |
| 1956 | Prof. Dr. Jesse James Galloway, Bloomington, Ind., † 1962 |
| Prof. Dr. Erik Stensiö, Stockholm, † 1984 | |
| 1955 | Prof. Dr. Friedrich von Huene, Tübingen, † 1969 |
| 1954 | Prof. Dr. Walther Gothan, Berlin, † 1954 |
| Prof. Dr. Johannes Wanner, Scheidegg, † 1956 | |
| 1952 | Prof. Dr. Fritz Berckhemer, Stuttgart, † 1954 |
| 1951 | Prof. Dr. Rudolf Richter, Frankfurt a.M., † 1957 |
| 1950 | Prof. Dr. Max Semper, Aachen, † 1952 |
| 1942 | Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Otto Dietrich, Berlin, † 1963 |
| Prof. Dr. Ernst Freiherr Stromer von Reichenbach, Munich, † 1952 | |
| Prof. Dr. Paul Gustav Krause, Berlin, † 1945 | |
| 1935 | Prof. Dr. Carl Wiman, Uppsala, † 1944 |
| 1928 | Prof. Dr. Otto Jaekel, Greifswald, † 1929 |
| 1912 | Dr. Louis Dollo, Brussels, † 1931 |
| Dr. Henry F. Osborn, New York, N.Y., † 1935 | |
| Charles D. Walcott, Washington, D.C., † 1927 |
In 1942, Prof. Dr. Othenio Abel became an honorary member of the Paläontologische Gesellschaft. On March 12, 2024, the managing and advisory boards revoked Abel's honorary membership. This decision was made after careful consideration and consultation. Our society is committed to respect, tolerance, and diversity as core values of our community. Othenio Abel's beliefs and values are in direct contradiction to these core principles.