Perennial pans are a common feature of the Mpumalanga Highveld in South Africa and are increasingly under threat from mining and agricultural activities. Pans are endorheic wetlands that can be perennial or ephemeral in nature. They are widespread in arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world. Although phyllopod crustaceans dominate pan communities in arid regions, the invertebrate communities of perennial pans have not been well studied. The aim of the current research was to characterise the invertebrate communities of several pans (both natural and impaired). A combination of taxonomic and functional approaches was followed to study these communities. The macroinvertebrate species diversity of the pans was comparable to similar ecosystems in southern Africa and other parts of the world. Results indicate large spatial and temporal variations in diversity. This variation became less obvious when the analysis was based on biological traits. It was also evident that both coal mining and agricultural activities had an impact on the aquatic invertebrate community structures. These changes were apparent in both the diversity and the biological traits of the invertebrate communities of adjacent pans.