Abstract: In order to verify the nutritional characteristics of cultured sea bass and fresh- water bass and contribute to the subsequent development and processing,the nutrient compositions of muscles,amino acid,fatty acid,trace elements,toxic or harmful substances were analyzed by generic methods in this paper.The results showed that the cultured( Lateolabrax japonicas) sea bass had higher nutritional value.The protein content of the cultured sea bass was higher than the cultured( Micropterus salmoides) fresh- water bass( p < 0.01) and the total contents of amino acids were higher than the cultured fresh- water bass( p < 0.05) which were essential for human body.The all kinds of amino acids in the cultured sea bass were higher than the cultured fresh- water bass slightly. The highest glutamate was observed in the total contents of delicious amino acids which indicated that the meat of cultured sea bass was more delicious.The cultured sea bass was similar to the cultured fresh- water bass in the lipid content but the content was higher than the cultured fresh- water bass in the viscera( p < 0.01). The total contents of unsaturated fatty acids( UFA) in muscles of cultured sea bass were higher than the cultured fresh- water bass( p <0.01) but the Eicosapentaenoic acid( EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid( DHA) levels were lower than the cultured fresh- water bass( p < 0.01).Therefore,the cultured fresh- water bass was abundant in EPA and DHA which were the necessary supplements to human bodies.The contents of mineral elements in bass were very rich especially in calcium and zinc whereas the cultured sea bass was better than the cultured fresh- water bass in the contents of inorganic salt and trace elements.