Character-impact aroma compounds of cooked crustaceans, such as crab, crayfish, lobster, freshwater prawn, and shrimp, are reviewed as well as previous findings on fresh aroma and off-flavor of crustaceans. Character-impact aroma compounds of cooked crustaceans include 2,3-butanedione, 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 3-(methylthio)propanal, and 2-acetyl-2-thiazoline. These compounds are the most potent aroma compounds responsible for desirable meaty, nutty/popcorn, and salty aroma notes. 1-Octen-3-one, (Z)-4-heptenal, and 2-acetylthiazole also contribute to the aroma of crustaceans. These compounds were present in all crustaceans evaluated.Crustaceans, such as crab, crayfish, lobster, prawn, and shrimp, are important and popular seafoods and have unique aromas and tastes. Cooked crustaceans have different aroma properties from other seafoods, such as fish and mollusks. It is well-known that cooked crustaceans have meaty and nutty/popcorn notes. Volatile and non-volatile flavor compounds responsible for crustacean aroma have been intensively studied (1-16).Volatile flavor compounds are usually generated by enzymatic reaction, lipid autoxidation, microbial action, environmental contamination, and thermal reaction. Of these, the lipoxygenase-mediated enzymatic reaction seems to play the most significant role in flavors of fresh seafoods (17). Fishy flavors of seafoods are associated with autoxidation of fish lipids and trimethylamine formation (18). Recently, it was found that bromophenols were responsible for sea-, brine-, and iodine-like aromas of saltwater fishes (19). The occurrence of off-flavor associated with bromophenols in prawns and lobsters has been reported (20).While fresh crustaceans possess mild fishy aromas, desirable and most familiar aromas of crustaceans are generated by thermal reaction during cooking. Thermally generated aroma compounds from crustaceans have been investigated (7-3