Although orthopyroxene (Opx) is present during a wide range of magmatic differentiation processes in the terrestrial and lunar mantle, its effect on melt trace element contents is not well quantified. We present results of a combined experimental and computational study of trace element partitioning between Opx and anhydrous silicate melts. Experiments were performed in air at atmospheric pressure and temperatures ranging from 1,326 to 1,420°C in the system CaO-MgO-Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 and subsystem CaOMgO-SiO 2 . We provide experimental partition coefficients for a wide range of trace elements (large ion lithophile: Li, Be, B, K, Rb, Sr, Cs, Ba, Th, U; rare earth elements, REE: La, $ 0:058, and are all virtually independent of temperature. Cr and Co are the only compatible trace elements at the studied conditions. To elucidate charge-balancing mechanisms for incorporation of REE into Opx and to assess the possible influence of Fe on Opx-melt partitioning, we compare our experimental results with computer simulations. In these simulations, we examine major and minor trace element incorporation into the end-members enstatite (Mg 2 Si 2 O 6 ) and ferrosilite (Fe 2 Si 2 O 6 ). Calculated solution energies show that R 2? cations are more soluble in Opx than R 3? cations of similar size, consistent with experimental partitioning data. In addition, simulations show charge balancing of R 3? cations by coupled substitution with Li ? on the M1 site that is energetically favoured over coupled substitution involving Al-Si exchange on the tetrahedrally coordinated site. We derived best-fit values for ideal ionic radii r 0 , maximum partition coefficients D 0 , and apparent Young's moduli E for substitutions onto the Opx M1 and M2 sites. Experimental r 0 values for R 3? substitutions are 0.66-0.67 Å for M1 and 0.82-0.87 Å for M2. Simulations for enstatite result in r 0 = 0.71-0.73 Å for M1 and *0.79-0.87 Å for M2. Ferrosilite r 0 values are systematically larger by *0.05 Å for both M1 and M2. The latter is opposite to experimental literature data, which appear to show a slight decrease in r M2 0 in the presence of Fe. Additional systematic studies in Febearing systems are required to resolve this inconsistency and to develop predictive Opx-melt partitioning models for use in terrestrial and lunar magmatic differentiation models.