Abstract. Let G ⊂ GL(C r ) be a finite complex reflection group. We show that when G is irreducible, apart from the exception G = S 6 , as well as for a large class of non-irreducible groups, any automorphism of G is the product of a central automorphism and of an automorphism which preserves the reflections. We show further that an automorphism which preserves the reflections is the product of an element of N GL(C r ) (G) and of a "Galois" automorphism: we show that Gal(K/Q), where K is the field of definition of G, injects into the group of outer automorphisms of G, and that this injection can be chosen such that it induces the usual Galois action on characters of G, apart from a few exceptional characters; further, replacing K if needed by an extension of degree 2, the injection can be lifted to Aut(G), and every irreducible representation admits a model which is equivariant with respect to this lifting. Along the way we show that the fundamental invariants of G can be chosen rational.