Abstract: The recovery growth experiment in southern catfish (initial weight: 73.65±9.82g), following starvation, was carried out at 27.5℃ from January to April, 1996.In body of the fish starvated for 60 days contents of energy, protein and lipid decreased, and contents of ash and water increased. The tested fish were divided into 7 experimental groups which were deprived food for 0(control), 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days, respectively. Then each group was re fed at ad libitum ration level for 20 days. At the end of the recovery growth, chemical composition and energy content in each group were similar with the control group. During the recovery growth SGRd(specific growth rate in terms of dry weight), SGRe (in energy), RLw (ration level in terms of wet weight), RLd (in dry weight) and RLe (in energy) in the group by starvation pretreatment for 50 days were higher significantly than those in the control group. This paper suggested that f (1) Silurus meridionalis starvation pretreatment for 50 days showed significantly compensatory effect in the recovery growth, (2) the compensatory growth resulted from significant increase of the ration level in the recovery growth.