Explanations not only increase understanding; they are often deeply satisfying. In the present research, we explore how this phenomenological sense of “explanatory satisfaction” relates to the functional role of explanation within the process of inquiry. In two studies, we address the following questions: 1) Does explanatory satisfaction track the epistemic, learning-directed features of explanation? and 2) How does explanatory satisfaction relate to both antecedent and subsequent curiosity? In answering these questions, we uncover novel determinants of explanatory satisfaction and contribute to the broader literature on explanation and inquiry.