The veined rapa whelk, Rapana venosa, (Valenciennes 1846), which is in the family Muricidae, is a largepredatory marine gastropod native to the coasts of China, Korea, and Japan. In the mid-1940s, it invaded the Black Seaand is now known worldwide as a notorious invasive species. In China, R. venosa is an economically important molluscanspecies, but the wild resource has decreased dramatically in the last 20 years because of over-exploitation anddeterioration of environmental conditions. Large-scale production of whelks has not been accomplished; therefore, understandingthe reproductive cycle of this species is crucial for establishing aquaculture techniques for seed production.In the current study, the reproductive cycle of R. venosa in Jinghai Bay, Shandong Province, China was investigatedfrom March 2012 to February 2013 in relation to environment factors. Water temperature at the sampling site showed atypical seasonal pattern of the temperate zone, with a unimodal peak in August and a minimum in January. The chlorophylla concentrations exhibited a similar pattern, with a peak observed in September and a minimum in January. Thechlorophyll a concentrations were significantly related to seawater temperature. Gonadal development of R. venosa wasobserved using tissue slices stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and the gametogenic stages were categorized into earlyactive stage (stage I), late active stage (stage II), ripe stage (stage III), partially spawned stage (stage IV), and recoverystage (stage V). Gametogenesis was initiated in September, continued slowly during the winter, followed by rapid gonaddevelopment during spring and summer. Most individuals were ripe between May–June, and gametes were releasedMay–August. The spawning peak occurred in July, and the gonads recovered August–November. R. venosa had synchronizedgonadal development in both sexes, and no hermaphrodites were found. Among 1093 specimens, 552 werefemales and 541 were males, resulting in a balanced sex ratio. The condition index and oocyte diameter clearly variedseasonally; increased at the beginning of gametogenesis, reached a peak at gonad maturity, and then declined after gameterelease. This is the first study to establish the gametogenic pattern of R. venosa along on the coast of ShandongProvince, China. The data obtained from this study will be useful for sustainable management of wild stocks and futureaquaculture of this species.