Abstract:In order to increase the analysis efficiency of microsatellites in Chinese mitten crab (), we report four highly informative, multiplex PCR panels developed from 16 microsatellite markers. The multiplex PCR panels were used to evaluate the genetic diversities and parentage assignment for 95 individuals in 3 families. The results showed that the 16 microsatellite markers screened in this study were rich in polymorphism, for example the average of observed heterozygosity (e) was 0.8164, and the average of polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.7927. Cervus 3.0 software was used to determine parentage assignment for 95 individuals in 3 families, and the results revealed that the accuracy of parentage assignment using any 2 groups of multiplex PCR panels was more than 94.74%. When using any 3 groups of multiplex PCR panels, the accuracy of parentage assignment was greater than 98.95%. The accuracy of parentage assignment was greater than 100% using all four multiplex assays. Using the combination of set 1, set 2, and set 3, or the combination of set 1, set 3, and set 4, the accuracy of parentage assignment also reached 100%, so the selection of these combinations of multiplex PCR panels can not only get accurate genealogy information, but also reduce workload and costs. Therefore, these multiplex PCR panels can provide a convenient and efficient way for breeding and family management of .