Oujiang color common carp, , is a good culturing fish with edible and ornamental traits. It has more than 1200 years of cultural history in the Oujiang drainage of Zhejiang province. In the last 20 years, some researchers have studied its growth performance, genetic diversity, and disease resistance traits. However, the cause and mechanism behind the growth differences among the different color patterns of Oujiang color common carp remain unknown. This study aimed to unveil the metabolic and physiological differences in growth, feeding rate, digestive enzyme activity, and respiration metabolic rate, and the correlations between these factors among four color patterns of Oujiang color common carp ("whole red", WR; "whole red with big black spots", RB; "whole white", WW; and "whole white with big black spots", WB). Our results indicated absolute weight gain rate (AGR), specific growth rate (SGR), daily food intake, daily feeding rate, and trypsin activity were highest in RB, followed by WB, WR, and WW. All of the above measured indexes were significantly higher in RB and WB compared to WR and WW (<0.05). Regarding Oujiang color common carp with red skin (RB and WR), significantly higher feeding rates were identified during the day compared to during the night (<0.05), however, no such significant changes were identified for Oujiang color common carp with white skin (WB and WW) (>0.05). A significant correlations were identified between specific growth rate and daily food intake, between specific growth rate and trypsin activity, and between daily food intake and trypsin and lipase activities (<0.05) indicating that the higher growth rates of RB and WB maybe associated with higher feeding rate and increased digestive enzyme activities. Meanwhile, significant differences in respiration oxygen consumption rate were identified among the four color patterns of Oujiang color common carp, with RB having the highest respiration oxygen consumption rate, followed by WR, WB, and WW. This indicated that Oujiang color common carp with red skin had higher respiration oxygen consumption rates than fish with white skin. Our results provide valuable metabolic and physiological characteristics of the four color patterns of Oujiang color common carp, which will directly guide the aquaculture and breeding of the species in the future.