Seriola dumerili is a high-quality “sashimi” food, favored by consumers throughout the world because of its meaty texture and high nutritional value. At present, artificial culturing of Seriola dumerili is performed in Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan, China, typically using a chilled trash fish diet, which results in frequent occurrence of diseases during culturing. To explore the effectiveness at replacement of chilled trash fish with artificial formulated feed, the present study was designed to investigate the effects of formulated feed and chilled trash fish on the growth and muscle nutrient composition of Seriola dumerili. A total of 180 Seriola dumerili with an initial body weight of (274.93±11.17) g were randomly assigned to two groups with three replicates each, with 30 fish per group which were fed either chilled trash fish or formulated feed for 60 d. The results showed that: 1. In terms of growth performance, the final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) of the formulated feed group were extremely significantly lower than those of the chilled trash fish group (P＜0.01), whereas no significant differences (P＞0.05) were observed between the two groups in terms of survival rate (SR), condition factor (CF), hepatosomatic index (HSI), and viscerosomatic index (VSI). 2. The results of growth-related gene expression levels showed that the mRNA expression of MyoG, MyoD1, MyoD2, and COL1A1A was significantly up-regulated (P＜0.05) in the muscle of the formulated feed group, whereas liver IGF-2 mRNA was highly significantly down-regulated (P＜0.01). 3. In terms of body composition, no significant differences were found between the two groups with regard to the crude lipid and crude protein content of muscle (P＞0.05). The whole-body crude lipid content and muscle fiber density in the formulated feed group were significantly lower than those in the chilled trash fish group (P＜0.01), whereas their crude protein content and average fiber cross-sectional area were significantly higher (P＜0.01). No significant differences were found between the two groups in therms of moisture, water-soluble chloride, calcium, crude ash, and total phosphorus contents in muscle tissue (P＞0.05). 4. The contents of total amino acids (TAA), essential amino acids (EAA), and palatable amino acids (DAA) in muscle tissue of the formulated feed group were significantly higher than those in the chilled trash fish group (P＜0.01). According to the EAAI, AAS, and CS scores, the muscle EAA index and score of the formulated feed group were higher than those of the chilled trash fish group; the first limiting amino acids of the two groups were Phe and Tyr, and the second limiting amino acid was Met. 5. No significant difference in total saturated fatty acids (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in muscle was observed between the two groups (P＞0.05), and the most abundant PUFA was DHA. The content of n-6 PUFA in the formulated feed group was significantly higher than that in the chilled trash fish group (P＞0.05), whereas EPA, DHA, and n-3 PUFA levels were higher in the chilled trash fish group (P＜0.01). In conclusion, compared with the chilled trash fish group, the formulated feed significantly increased muscle protein level, amino acid composition, and nutritional value, and it promoted the expression of muscle growth and collagen genes, whereas the growth performance and n-3 PUFA levels were low. This study demonstrated that chilled trash fish can be replaced by artificial formulated feed in Seriola dumerili aquaculture; however, formulated feed should be further adjusted and optimized in the subsequent feed research with regard to the n-3 PUFA level.