Abstract: Our study described the embryonic and early larval development of Centropyge bispinosa, a representative marine ornamental pygmy angelfish which widely distributed in Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Results show that broodstock of C. bispinosa releases gametes in 10-20 minutes after the lights off (sunset). The fertilized eggs are spherical in shape and 638.5±5.7 μm in diameter, with an oil droplet inside (179.9±10.3 μm) and the yolk occupying the most inner space of egg. At 24.5 ℃, the hatching occurred after fertilization in about 16.5 hours. The average body length (BL) of the newly hatched larvae is 1 161.3±55.2 μm. The newly hatched larva lacks mouth and digestive tract, incapable of active swimming due to the lack of pigmented eyes and other essential organs. In 1 day post hatch (dph), the average BL of larvae grew up to 2 241.7±54.2 μm, their yolks were partly absorbed, and large pigment cells began to appear on the body. In 2 dph, the larvae grew up to 2 476.4±12.7 μm, which indicates a decreased growth rate of BL and suggests that energy budget for growth may compensate for the development of important organs such as the digestive tract and anus. In 3 dph, the average BL of the larvae changed insignificantly, while the eyes were fully pigmented, the mouth was developed and began to enter the exogenous nutrition stage, which makes the larvae responsible to prey and predators. For the first time,this study reported the embryonic and larval development of pygmy angelfish C. bispinosa in China. It provides a guide for the breedings of pygmy angelfish in captive in future.