Abstract: γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been established as an important regulator of food intake in mammals, but its role in fish remains scant. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of GABA on food intake in mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi). Fish received intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of saline and different doses of GABA (50, 125, 500 and 2000 μg). Food intake increased significantly in 125 μg GABA group within 2h. The RT-qPCR data demonstrated that up-regulation of NPY and AgRP, and down-regulation of CART and POMC were consistent with higher food intake of mandarin fish. The mRNA expression of Leptin-R decreased significantly at all the four doses of GABA at 0.5h and 2h compared to the saline injected fish. These results indicated that GABA could affect the appetite by regulating leptin signaling pathway and thus resulting in alteration of food intake. Our findings could provide theory basis for GABA application in aquaculture feeds.