This dataset presents benthic foraminiferal (i.e., Hoeglundina elegans) trace element ratios (i.e., Cd/Ca, Mn/Ca, Al/Ca and Fe/Ca) at International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1542 (52°42.292ʹS, 75°35.769ʹW; 1,101 m water depth) during Marine Isotope Stage 12-10. The limit of detection (LOD) is at 0.5 µmol/mol for Al/Ca, at 1.4 μmol/mol for Fe/Ca and at 0.56 μmol/mol for Mn/Ca. The samples were reductively cleaned and to determine the 1σ-uncertainty of the analyses, full replicates were conducted. The trace element ratios were measured at the Institute of Geosciences at Kiel University (Kiel, Germany) using an Agilent 7900 inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS).