Shortage and high cost of conventional proteins (meat and fish) in our developing countries means that we have to find new sources of protein. The shrimp (Penaeus notialis), produced in large quantities worldwide and particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, is a track to be exploited. This study was conducted to assess the nutritional quality of this unconventional protein from freshwater. Overall chemical characterization in grams per 100g / dry matter of the powder of this animal was carried out by standard methods (AOAC).The macromolecule content (carbohydrate, fat and protein) gave 44.4%, 7.86% and 34.21% respectively. Nutritional parameters that are the total dry matter ingested (MSTI), the total protein ingested (PTI) in grams/ day and the food efficiency coefficient (CEA), the protein efficiency coefficient (CEP) and the weight of these animals were evaluated on the basis of animal experimentation carried out in the animal physiology laboratory. Second consumption experiment gave an MSTI of 8.8 g / day respectively with a PTI of 0.82 on the one hand. On the other hand, a CEA of 0.20 and a CEP of 1.91 for the shrimp diet.All these values show no significant difference with that of the control diet (Casein) and the fish diet. The growth determined by the weight variation of rats fed the shrimp diet remains greater compared to that of the control and fish diets.This study showed that proteins from the shrimp diet (Penaeus notialis) may well be a nutritional alternative alongside conventional meat. Additional studies may be conducted to more specifically determine the micronutrient composition of this animal protein.

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