To screen suitable germplasm of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) for cold region aquaculture and evaluate their quality characteristics, this study conducted a 5-month cultivation experiment on three crossbred juvenile crab groups [Liaohe inbred (LL), Yangtze inbred (YY), and Liaohe♀× Yangtze♂ hybrid (LY)]. Adult male crabs were collected to compare the edible yield, condition factor, coloration, proximate composition, fatty acid profiles, free amino acid compositions, mineral element contents, and toxic heavy metal elements. The results demonstrated that LY exhibited significantly higher meat yield (MY) and total edible yield (TEY) compared to the other groups (P＜0.05). The condition factor (CF) of the males did not significantly differ among these three groups (P＞0.05). YY and LY showed significantly higher carapace redness (a*) and hepatopancreas lightness (L*) than LL (P＜0.05), while LY displayed significantly higher hepatopancreas yellowness (b*) (P＜0.05). LY contained significantly higher crude protein content in both the gonadal system and muscle tissues (P＜0.05). The hepatopancreas of LY contained higher ∑PUFA, ∑EFA, n-3/n-6 PUFA, and DHA/EPA values compared with those of the other two groups. The gonadal system of LY showed significantly higher proline (Pro) content (P＜0.05), while the muscle contained significantly higher alanine (Ala) and Pro (P＜0.05). LY demonstrated relatively lower total bitter-taste amino acids (∑TBV) in both tissues. LY exhibited significantly higher total mineral elements (∑TME) in gonads and muscle (P＜0.05), with notably elevated iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentrations (P＜0.05). All groups showed toxic heavy metal contents far below the national food safety limits. Although LL demonstrated a higher hepatosomatic index (HSI) and gonadosomatic index (GSI), superior total lipid content, and ∑EFAA in hepatopancreas and muscle and YY showed a significantly higher ash content in the hepatopancreas and gonads (P＜0.05), LY exhibited predominant advantages in most evaluation metrics, e.g., higher MY, TEY, carapace a*, hepatopancreas L*, contents of crude protein in the gonadal system and muscle, contents of ∑PUFA, ∑EFA, n-3/n-6 PUFA, and DHA/EPA in the hepatopancreas, content of Pro in the gonadal system, contents of Ala and Pro in the muscle, ∑TME in the gonadal system and muscle, and contents of Fe and Zn in the edible tissues. The hybrid LY displayed superior edibility and nutritional value, demonstrating optimal comprehensive characteristics for cold-region aquaculture.