Abstract: Spotted scat (Scatophagus argus), which has the notable ability to tolerate a wide range of environmental salinities, is widely distributed around the Indo-Pacific region. S. argus with such features as high nutritional value, deliciousness, easy cultivation, low feeding cost, etc. is increasingly becoming an important farmed fish with considerable economic value in South and South-East Asia, including southeast coastal areas of China. The commercial demand for seedlings is rising sharply. In order to provide useful information and suggestion for the further development of germplasm resource and aquaculture industry of S. argus, this article reviewed and summarized the research findings and progress in basic biology, reproductive biology, molecular genetics, artificial propagation and culture. Furthermore, the future development was analyzed and discussed, and the directions of future research were proposed tentatively.

Key words: Scatophagus argus, biology, heredity, reproduction, aquaculture technique