Without using any adjustable parameter, the temperature and pressure dependences of oxygen self-diffusion coefficients in Mg 2 SiO 4 polymorphs (forsterite, wadsleyite and ringwoodite) and MgSiO 3 perovskite have been successfully reproduced from the cBΩ model that interconnects point defect parameters with bulk properties under the corresponding P–T conditions of the lower mantle. In addition, an alternative method is proposed to calculate the pre-exponential factor of oxygen diffusion coefficients from the measurements of the electrical conductivity through the Nernst–Einstein equation, which is based on an observed compensation law between activation energies and pre-exponential factors for the electrical conductivity of forsterite and MgSiO 3 perovskite. In most cases, our results show the cBΩ model does better than the latter approach, and the self-diffusion coefficients values derived from the cBΩ model agree fairly well with the experimental ones if the relevant uncertainties are considered. Furthermore, the cBΩ model is also found to give a correct estimation of the activation enthalpy and volume for MgSiO 3 perovskite. However, the calculated activation enthalpies and activation volumes of O diffusion in Mg 2 SiO 4 polymorphs are shown to differ substantially between our empirical estimates and the theoretical calculations.