The metabolic responses of the juvenile Miichthys miiuy in terms of oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion to changes in temperature (6-25°C) and salinity (16-31 ppt) were investigated. At a constant salinity of 26 ppt, the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of the fish increased with an increase in temperature and ranged between 133.38 and 594.96 lg O 2 h -1 g -1 DW. The effect of temperature on OCR was significant (P \ 0.01). Q 10 coefficients were 6.80, 1.41, 1.29 and 2.36 at temperatures of 6-10, 10-15, 15-20 and 20-25°C, respectively, suggesting that the juveniles of M. miiuy will be well adapted to the field temperature in the summer, but not in the winter. The ammonium excretion rates (AER) of the fish were also affected significantly by temperature (P \ 0.01). The O:N ratio at temperatures of 6, 10, 15 and 20°C ranged from 13.12 to 20.91, which was indicative of a protein-dominated metabolism, whereas the O:N at a temperature of 25°C was 51.37, suggesting that protein-lipids were used as an energy substrate. At a constant temperature of 15°C, the OCRs of the fish ranged between 334.14 (at 31 ppt) and 409.68 (at 16 ppt) lg O 2 h -1 g -1 DW. No significant differences were observed in the OCR and AER of the juveniles between salinities of 26 and 31 ppt (P [ 0.05). The OCR and AER at 16 ppt were, however, significantly higher than those at 26 and 31 ppt (P \ 0.05), indicating salinity lower than 16 ppt is presumably stressful to M. miiuy juveniles.