Due to its specific mechanical properties, tantalum is often used in strength-demanding military applications. High-cycle fatigue (HCF) behaviour of pure tantalum, however, has been rarely reported and the mechanisms at stake to account for deformation under cyclic loadings are still badly understood. This paper aims at better understanding the fatigue behaviour of tantalum and at clarifying the mechanisms of damage formation encountered under such loadings. HCF experiments performed at room temperature on commercially-pure tantalum are presented. Mean stress effects were investigated in the aim of clarifying the interaction between fatigue and creep. Fracture mechanisms were observed to vary from intergranular to transgranular depending on applied stress amplitude and mean stress. Damage mechanisms were investigated under tension and torsion. Results are analyzed in the light of existing fatigue criteria, the limitations of which are discussed. Finally, complex sequential loadings, representative of in-service loadings, were applied to tantalum smooth specimens. The contribution of each loading sequence to the overall damage was quantified and analyzed in terms of linear or non-linear cumulative damage rule.