Understanding the extent and frequency that fish make movements can help define the seasonal importance of different habitats and isolate spatial and temporal vulnerability to exploitation.  Coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) is one of the main targeted fisheries species in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and concern exists that populations may be at risk from overfishing during spawning season. The objective of this study was to determine long-term space use patterns of P. leopardus and identify any associated temporal variation that may affect vulnerability to fishing. Passive acoustic tracking was conducted at Heron Island and One Tree Island Reefs in the southern GBR, Australia.  A total of 124 P. leopardus were implanted with V13P acoustic transmitters between 2010 and 2012.  Forty-five VR2W receivers were deployed at both reefs to track the movements of tagged individuals.  The influence of time of day, season, year, and location on several movement measures were investigated. Results showed increased horizontal movements and higher activity in deeper water during the day in the austral summer.  Movement patterns, both vertically and horizontally, appeared to be influenced by either foraging or reproductive drivers.  Despite increased movements during summer, individuals typically remained in a small area ~0.5 km² throughout the year indicating that long range spawning-related movements are rare. This study is important because it provides long-term (~3 years) movement data with extensive reef coverage of an economically significant reef fish and increases knowledge of spatial and temporal space use patterns that may be driven by two key biological demands.