Abstract: One of the main problems with the farmed yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) is that there is no appropriate mode for breeding parents. A large number of female parents of yellow catfish are selected from commercial fish, which have the problem of accumulation of mesenteric fat and visceral fat, resulting in uneven quality of fry and low survival rate. To evaluate the relationship between mesenteric fat deposition (MFD) and reproductive performance of yellow catfish, this study selected four populations of female parent including group 1, a wild population of yellow catfish with low mesenteric fat index MFI, (0.56±0.17)%; group 2, a cultured population with low MFI (1.97±0.40)%; group 3 and 4, two cultured populations with high MFI (5.92±1.85)% and (9.62±1.01)%. Our results showed that there was a grossly negative correlation between MFI and gonad somatic index (GSI). There were no significant differences in the spawning rate, fertilization rate and number of fry produced per female between group 1 and group 2, which were significantly higher than those in group 3 and group 4. In addition, the malformation rates of fries in group 1 and 2 were significantly lower than those of group 3 and 4. The serum Luteinizing hormone (LH) and Vitellogenin (VTG) levels decreased with the increase of MFD, while the contents of lipid and glycogen in livers and eggs increased with the increase of MFD. In conclusion, our results indicate that female yellow catfish with excessive MFD had reduced physiological indexes and reproductive performance and poor quality of the fries. Establishing proper parental breeding methods and reducing MFD can significantly improve the reproductive performance, which provide clues for improving the quality of fish fry.