The lipids was extracted from the internal organs of Ictalurus punctatus by microwave, and its liposoluble chemical constituents was identified and quantified by gas chromatography （GC）/electron impact （EI） mass spectrometry （MS）. Subsequent-ly, the acid catalysis method was used to convert fatty acids to methyl-esters. The total lipids in the pure fat of I. punctatus were found to be about 99%. Twenty-three fatty acids were identified. The major fatty acids found in the oils were normal mo-nounsaturated, polyunsaturated fatty acids and alkane paraffin. Unsaturated fatty acids comprised 72.84% of the total, and the major components of monounsaturated fatty acids were C18：1 （48.52%）, while the polyunsaturated fatty acids were mainly composed of C18：2 （16.54%）. Saturated fatty acids comprised approximately 19.21%of the total. The main components were C16：0 （14.46%） and C18：0 （4.17%）, most of which were medium-long-chain fatty acids. Therefore, catfish oil can be used as an important dietary source of functional fatty acids. The difference between the pro-portion of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids appears to be significant compared to fish of the Cyprinidae family, as catfish skin and muscle have higher protein content and lower fatty content. This study confirms that catfish has excellent nutri-tional quality.
