Abstract: To study the effect of carotenoids on the body color of red,yellow and blue strains of N.denticulata sinensis,this study used TLC (thin-layer chromatography) to analyze the main pigment compositions of 3 strains of N.denticulata sinensis.According to the results,the effects of carotenoids on the body color of 3 strains of N.denticulata sinensis were tested.The TLC analysis was used to separate the dermis and extract the pigment of 3 strains of N.denticulata sinensis.The feeding trials were conducted in light and dark,while 300 shrimps from each strain were divided into thirty groups,with three replicates in each group.The control group was fed with basic feed,while the other four groups were fed with basic feed added Spirulina,lutein,natural-astaxanthin and artificial-astaxanthin.The results showed that the pigment substances of red,yellow,and blue strains of N.denticulata sinensis contained β-carotene and astaxanthin;the pigment substances of blue N.denticulata sinensis contained a combination of crustacyanin and astaxanthin.The feeding trials showed that in yellow strain and blue strain,natural-astaxanthin had the most obvious effect on the body color promotion.Under the dark condition,lutein,natural-astaxanthin and artificial-astaxanthin had certain promotion and maintenance effects on the body color of red strain and yellow strain.The four carotenoid additives had no effect on the body color in blue strain.This study provided a theoretical basis for improving body color of N.denticulata sinensis.