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This study examined the proximate composition, cholesterol content and fatty acid profile of fillet of the most important species captured in Italian seas and commonly consumed in the European Union, such as anchovy (Engraulis encrasicholus L.), red mullet (Mullus barbatus L.), European hake (Merluccius merluccius L.) and Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda L.). The fish were caught in three different geographic areas of the Italian seas: south Tyrrhenian (ST), south Adriatic (SA) and Ionian (IO). Anchovy from the ST sea had the highest lipid content (2.27%) compared to fish captured in the SA (1.81%) and IO seas (1.91%) (P < 0.01). Red mullet captured in the SA exhibited the highest amount of lipid content (7.54%) compared to fish from the ST (1.82%) and IO seas (3.23%) (P< 0.01). The total content of cholesterol of fish did not show significant differences from one geographic area to the other, particularly for European hake (from 98 to 66 mg/100 g). The fatty acid profile of anchovy species was not affected by the geographic area of the fish catch. European hake caught in the ST sea showed the highest proportion of DHA (29.13%) in comparison with those captured in the SA (19.98%) and IO seas (19.84%). Atlantic bonito from the ST sea had the highest proportions of DHA (24.94%), compared to those from the SA (12.08%) and IO seas (13.83%). The SA bonitos contained a significantly lower proportion of EPA (3.31%) in comparison with fish from both the ST and IO seas (5.66 and 5.17% respectively). The red mullet captured in the ST sea exhibited the highest proportions of DHA, n-3 PUFA, total PUFA and significantly lower proportions of oleic acid and MUFA. The fish coming from the ST sea showed better nutritional traits than those from other geographical areas although they all have excellent nutritional traits due to the low fat content and very high n-3 PUFA proportion