The Pampus fishes are important commercial species and widely distributed in the coastal waters of China.Due to the similarities and complexities of morphological characters used in traditional taxonomy,taxonomic confusion has arisen in Pampusconcerning the nomenclature.Among the genus,perhaps none is more confusing in the taxonomic studies than Pampus argenteus.Up to date,no reports about neotype of P.argenteus can be found.In the present study,redescription of morphological characters and redefinition of DNA barcoding of P.argenteus are conducted based on sixteen specimens collected from Kuwait(northern waters of Kuwait),Pakistan(Sonmiani Bay,Ormara,Pasni),Beibu Bay and Taiwan during October 2010 to September 2012.The diagnostic characters of P.argenteus:dorsal fin Ⅶ-Ⅷ-39-43,pectoral fin 21-29,anal fin Ⅴ-Ⅵ-35-41,caudal fin 26-28.First gill arch with 10-12［(2-3) (8-9)］small and sparse gill rakers.Vertebrae 37-38.In the occipital region,the area of the wavy branches above lateral line is developed and plume-like,with a little obtuse edge.Ventral wavy branches below lateral line are curvy and shorter than that above lateral line,and not reaching the base of dorsal fin.Combining all COⅠ sequences of P.argenteus from GenBank with those of this study,four absolute groups can be found in all specimens based on the genetic differences in amino acids and distance between groups.From the NJ tree,we can find that only one sequence(FJ384702)is similar to our DNA barcoding of P.argenteus.Therefore,it is urgent to guarantee the correctness of all sequences from GenBank.Redescription of morphological characters and the right DNA barcoding of P.argenteus are given,which provide a guarantee for efficient and accurate study,and theoretic basis for classification of Pampus in future.