The growth and development of the vertebrate skeleton is regulated by the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), among which BMP4 is one of the most active osteoinduction factors. In this study, we cloned the ) and described its expression profiling. The cDNA sequence was 1680 bp, and contained a 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of 419 bp, an open reading frame (ORF) of 1212 bp encoding a protein of 403 amino acids, and a 3'-UTR of 49 bp. Homology and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of the BMP4 protein shares highest identity with those of Cichlidae species, and fish BMP4 forms a single lineage distinct from the BMP4 proteins of other vertebrates. The tissue expression distribution of the mRNA was predominantly expressed in the gill, and less in the dorsal fin, cartilage, etc. In the early developmental stages, mRNA was also detected at the egg, larval, juvenile, and fingerling stages, with the highest expression in the egg stage (cleavage and gastrula periods), and the second highest in the larval stage (3-4 days old). Whole-mount in situ hybridization showed that mRNA was firstly detected in head and anterior region in the early larval stage, and then appeared in the crown-like larval fin, jaw, and pectoral fin. mRNA was then predominantly expressed in all the fins and the operculum during the early juvenile stage. These results demonstrate the important role of BMP4 in the fin development of , and provide a theoretical foundation for investigating the mechanisms regulating fish bone development.