Abstract: This paper reported the expression of envelope protein VP28 of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 by using lactose as inducer.The results indicated that lactose could induce foreign protein expression and enhance cell growth during the induction period.The study showed that expression of VP28 fusion protein was up to 97.36 mg · L^-1 with the lactose concentration of 8 g · L^-1 and the optimal fermentation condition of 12 hours.In order to reduce the cultivation cost, the whey was used as alternative to lactose as carbon source and inducer for VP28 expression.The results showed that expression of VP28 fusion protein was up to 86.24 mg · L^-1 with the whey concentration of 10 g · L^-1 and the optimal fermentation condition of 13 hours.