The effects of hydrostatic pressure on the donor binding energy in GaAs–Ga0.7Al0.3As quantum wells have been studied in the effective mass approximation, using a variational approach for hydrogenic ground state 1s and excited states 2s, 2px, 3px. Results obtained show that the donor binding energy variation with the well width and the position of impurity under pressure is similar to that without pressure. The intra donor squared transition matrix elements are calculated as functions of impurity position in the presence of hydrostatic pressure. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)