Abstract: ObjectiveThe main objective of this study was to evaluate the muscle nutrient value of Cichlasoma ma-naguense,provided reference for further studies such as agricultural food processing and muscle quality improvement and promoted sustainable development of C.managuense industry.MethodC.managuense and three tilapia fishes(Oreochro-mis niloticus♀×O.aureus♂,O.niloticus and red tilapia)were selected as experimental subjects.Through muscle nutri-tient components comparison,muscle nutritional value of C.managuense was evaluated.ResultThe content of crude protein in C.managuense was 19.57 g/100 g,which was close to that of O.niloticus and significantly higher than that of red tilapia(P<0.05,the same below).The content of crude fat in C.managuense was significantly higher than that in three species of tilapia,and the rank was as follows:C.managuense>O.niloticus>O.niloticus♀×O.aureus♂>red tilapia.Sev-enteen amino acids were detected from muscle of C.managuense and three tilapia species,including seven essential ami-no acids(EAA).In terms of the composition,in the four fishes,the content of glutamic acid(Glu)was the highest and cysteine(Cys)the lowest.The total amount of essential amino acid(ΣEAA)in C.managuense was similar to that in red ti-lapia and significantly lower than that in O.niloticus♀×O.aureus♂ and O.niloticus.The essential amino acid index (EAAI)was 82.56 for C.managuense,82.00 for O.niloticus♀×O.aureus♂,84.00 for O.niloticus,85.10 for red tilapia.The content of linolenic acid in C.managuense was significantly higher than that in O.niloticus♀×O.aureus♂,while the contents of stearic acid,palmitic acid,oleic acid and linoleic acid were significantly lower than that in three tilapias.All of the experimental subjects were rich in macroelements and microelement.Potassium(K)and phosphorus(P)were abun-dant in all these fishes,while copper(Cu)content was the lowest.ConclusionC.managuense is a high quality freshwa-ter fish with high protein content and low fat,abundant amino acids with proper proportion,high linolenic acid content,rich macroelement and microelement.It is a fine food protein source.