<p>Igneous cordierite occurs in some S-type granites in various regions of the world. The formation of cordierite in felsic melts is limited to temperatures of 700 to 780&#xa0;°C and pressures below 7 kbar. The stability of cordierite in mafic magmas and its genesis remain controversial. We present mineralogical, geochemical, and geochronological data for Precambrian dykes of cordierite-bearing norites and diorites (eastern Voronezh Crystalline Massif). These dykes contain xenoliths of metasedimentary rocks and gabbroic rocks and consist of cordierite (Mg# = 0.67–0.84), hypersthene (Mg# = 0.45–0.69), plagioclase (An₃₅–An₇₂), biotite (Mg# = 0.56–0.71), and variable amounts of quartz, pyrrhotite, and ilmenite. The cordierite-bearing norites and diorites are high-Al (Al₂O₃ ≥ 17.5 wt.%), low-K (K₂O ≤ 1.5%), and moderately Mg-rich (MgO from 4.7 to 9.3%) rocks. These rocks display enrichment in light rare-earth elements (REE) and poorly fractionated heavy REE patterns with positive Eu anomalies and negative Th, Nb, and Ti anomalies. Based on U–Pb zircon geochronological data, the dykes were emplaced approximately at 2035 ± 15 and 2038 ± 13&#xa0;Ma. Field and petrographic data, as well as mineral and whole-rock compositions, indicate cordierite-bearing norites and diorites crystallized at shallow depths (≤ 1–2 kbars) at temperatures of 1250–900&#xa0;°C from reducing, H₂O-poor magmas. The cordierite-bearing norites and related rocks are thought to form during the differentiation of evolved, weakly contaminated magmas derived from a dehydrated basaltic source. These rocks may have occurred in an intraplate setting during the post-orogenic stage. Cordierite-bearing mafic rocks are presumably a shallow-level analog of massive anorthosites.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>