Abstract: Collichthys lucidus and Harpodon nehereus are small fishes which are common in the coastal waters of China. They are often fed to aquatic animals, and are also food for human. In this study, total volatile basic nitrogen( T-VBN)and nine biogenic amines (cadaverine, putrescine, histamine, tyramine, serotonin, spermidine, spermine, dopamine and octopamine) of C. lucidus and H. nehereus storage at 30℃ were examined in every 6h for 48h. The correlation analysis of the contents in T-VBN or biogenic amines with the storage time were also evaluated for these two species. The results showed that there were differences in the contents of biogenic amines and T-VBN in C. lucidus and H. nehereus. The content of T-VBN increased from 8.19 mg/100 g (0h) to 568.05 mg/100 g (48h) in C. lucidus, and from 13.16 mg/100 g (0h) to 361.34 mg/100 g (48h) in H. nehereus. The increase in the T-VBN content of C. lucidus was significantly higher than that in H. nehereus. The T-VBN contents of C. lucidus and H. nehereus exceeded the national edible standard of 30 mg/100 g after 10h and 12h respectively. Therefore these two species were not suitable to eat after 10h and 12h respectively. The highest contents of biogenic amines detected in these two species in order were cadaverine, putrescine, tyramine and histamine. The contents of these four biogenic amines increased significantly with the extension of storage time (PC. lucidus was significantly higher than that in H. nehereus (PP>0.05). Dopamine was not detected in these two species. The contents of T-VBN, cadaverine, putrescine, histamine and tyramine were found to correlate closely(P<0.01) with the storage time in these two species.