Abstract: To examine the bacterial composition in the feed mash of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), we constructed a 16S rRNA gene clone library using universal primers for the domain bacteria. 125 clones randomly selected from the library were screened by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. These clones were divided into 82 different RFLP patterns. Some representative clones were sequenced and 23 sequences were obtained. Sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis reveal high bacterial diversity in large yellow croaker′s feed mash. The sequences were clustered into three major groups, in which γ-Proterbacteria were the most predominant group, accounting for about 84.4% of the sampled clones; Flavobacteria were the second dominant group, accounting for about 10.9%. There were a small number of Fusobacteria, accounting for about 4.7%. Psychrobacter sp. were the most abundant members within γ-Proterbacteria, and Photobacterium were the second abundant members.