Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of starvation stress on antioxidant capacity in hepatopancreas of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Eighty fishes with an average weight of (11.52±2.85) g were divided into four parallel groups, and were starved for 14 d, the hepatopancreas were collected for determining the content of malonaldehyde (MDA), the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) level, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) on 1st, 7th and 14th day. The content of MDA and the level of T-AOC decreased at the beginning of the starvation, and then increased as the starvation time passed, with their peak on the 14th day of starvation, which were significantly higher than those in the 1st day of starvation (P<0.05). The activities of SOD and CAT increased gradually as the starvation time extended, the activities in the 14th day of starvation were significantly higher than those in the 1st day of starvation (P<0.05). The results indicated that the content of MDA, the activities of antioxidant enzyme and the level of T-AOC in hepatopancreas of tilapia could be increased, and the oxidative damage in hepatopancreas could be aggravated with the starvation time extended.