Two 8-week feeding trials were conducted to evaluate soybean meal (SBM) as a fish meal substitute in diets for Japanese seabass, Lateolabrax japonicas. In trial I, a control diet contained 40%1 fish meal, and 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% of the fish meal were replaced with SBM, supplied with 0.3% DL-methionine and 0.2%. In trial II, 60% and 80% of the fish meal in control diet were replaced with SBM, supplied with 0.3 or 0.7% DL-methionine. The feed intake was lower in fish fed the control diet compared to diets with SBM. No significant differences were found in the weight gain, nitrogen retention efficiency and body composition between fish fed diets with up to 60% of the fish meal being substituted with SBM. This study indicates that fish meal in Japanese seabass diets can be reduced to 16% by using SBM as a fish meal substitute.