Aim  Evidence indicates that species are responding to climate change through distributional range shifts that track suitable climatic conditions. We aim to elucidate the role of meso-scale dispersal barriers in climate-tracking responses. Location  South coast of England (the English Channel). Methods  Historical distributional data of four intertidal invertebrate species were logistically regressed against sea surface temperature (SST) to determine a climate envelope. This envelope was used to estimate the expected climate-tracking response since 1990 along the coast, which was compared with observed range expansions. A hydrodynamic modelling approach was used to identify dispersal barriers and explore disparities between expected and observed climate tracking. Results  Range shifts detected by field survey over the past 20 years were less than those predicted by the changes that have occurred in SST. Hydrodynamic model simulations indicated that physical barriers produced by complex tidal currents have variably restricted dispersal of pelagic larvae amongst the four species. Main conclusions  We provide the first evidence that meso-scale hydrodynamic barriers have limited climate-induced range shifts and demonstrate that life history traits affect the ability of species to overcome such barriers. This suggests that current forecasts may be flawed, both by overestimating range shifts and by underestimating climatic tolerances of species. This has implications for our understanding of climate change impacts on global biodiversity.