Raffinose [or O-α-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→6)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fructofuranoside] pentahydrate, C18H32O16·5H2O, (I), and three lower hydrates, namely the 4.433-, (II), 4.289-, (III), and 4.127-hydrated, (IV), forms, obtained in the course of the dehydration of (I), have been studied. The unit cells in the space group P2₁2₁2₁ are of similar dimensions for all the crystals. The conformation of the raffinose molecules remains almost the same across the four crystal structures. The raffinose molecules are linked into a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network involving all the -OH groups, the ring and glycosidic O atoms, and the water molecules. Six water sites were identified in the structures of (II), (III) and (IV), of which W1, W4 and W6 (W = water) are partially occupied with their populations coupled. W1, W4 and one of the -OH groups of the galactose ring form an infinite hydrogen-bonding chain around a 2₁ axis parallel to the a axis (denoted chain A), and W6 and the same -OH group form a similar chain (chain A') disordered with chain A. The occupancy ratio of chain A to chain A' for N-hydrates (N is a hydration number between 4 and 5) is (N - 4):(5 - N). The transformation of chain A to chain A' as part of the dehydration process has little effect on the rest of the structure. Thus, the dehydration proceeds without significant impact on the crystal structure.