Black bream (Megalobrama terminalis) is an important economic fish species in the genus Megalobrama in China. Historically, it extensively distributed in many river basins. However, overfishing and pollution had a great impact on its germplasm resources. Nowadays, the fish species exists only in the Qiantang River, Jinshahe Reservoir and Heilong River. The black bream population in the Heilong River is endangered, only dozens of individuals of black bream can be found per year near Fuyuan City (134°28' E, 48°37' N), which is located in Heilongjiang Province. Our team successfully achieved the artificial propagation of the species in 2018 and 2019. To improve artificial propagation and seedling cultivation techniques, information on embryonic and early larval development is required. In this research, the morphological characteristics and development time for embryonic and early larval development of black bream in the Heilong River were observed and described. The chorion-free fertilized eggs were cultured in Holtfreter's solution, and the embryonic development stages of gastrointestinal stage and subsequent stages were observed. Under a water temperature of (23.5±1.0)℃, it required 30 h 10 min for the embryonic development process. The process includes 7 main development stages (prophase of cleavage stage, cleavage stage, blastocyst stage, gastrula stage, neurula stage, organ formation stage and hatching stage), and 25 specific developmental periods. The average total length (TL) of newly hatched larvae were (4.33±0.16) mm, and the yolk sac was completely absorbed at 144 h after hatching (HAH) at a controlled temperature of (25.5±1.0)℃ when larvae total length reached (7.73±0.20) mm. Early larval development can be divided into 5 periods (eye pigmentation increasing period, body pigmentation increasing period, air bladder appeared period, air bladder inflated period, yolk sac absorbed completely) according to the pigmentation in eye and body (mainly in head, neck, back and digestive tract), and the change of air bladder and yolk sac. Black bream had no feeding behavior before the air bladder was inflated (at 96 HAH). The larvae are suitable to be transferred to ponds for summerling cultivation in the period between 96 HAH and 144 HAH.