Peptides in shrimp hemolymph play an important role in the innate immune response.Analysis of hemolymph will help to detect and identify potential novel biomarkers of microbial infection.We used magnetic bead-based purification(ClinProt system) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry(MALDI-TOF MS) to characterize shrimp hemolymph peptides.Shrimp serum and plasma were used as the source of samples for comparative analysis,and it was found that serum was more suitable for shrimp hemolymph peptidomic analysis.To screen potential specific biomarkers in serum of immune-challenged shrimps,we applied magnetic bead-based MALDI-TOF MS to serum samples from 10 immune-challenged and 10 healthy shrimps.The spectra were analyzed using FlexAnalysis 3.0 and ClinProTools 2.1 software.Thirteen peptide peaks significantly different between the two groups were selected as candidate biomarkers of lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-infection.The diagnostic model established by genetic algorithm using five of these peaks was able to discriminate LPS-challenged shrimps from healthy control shrimps with a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 100%.Our approach in MALDITOF MS-based peptidomics is a powerful tool for screening bioactive peptides or biomarkers derived from hemolymph,and will help to enable a better understanding of the innate immune response of shrimps. Peptides in shrimp hemolymph play an important role in the innate immune response. Analysis of hemolymph will help to detect and identify potential novel biomarkers of microbial infection. We used magnetic bead-based purification (ClinProt system) and matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to characterize shrimp hemolymph peptides. Shrimp serum and plasma were used as the source of samples for comparative analysis, and it was found that serum was more suitable for shrimp hemolymph peptidomic analysis. To screen potential specific biomarkers in serum of immune-challenged shrimps, we applied magnetic bead-based MALDI-TOF MS to serum samples from 10 immune-challenged and 10 healthy shrimps.The spectra were analyzed using FlexAnalysis 3.0 and ClinProTools 2.1 software.Thirteen peptide peaks significantly different between the two groups were selected as candidate biomarkers of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -infection.The diagnostic model established by genetic algorithm using five of these peaks was able to discriminate LPS-challenged shrimps from healthy control shrimps with a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 100%. Our approach in MALDITOF MS-based peptidomics is a for tool for screening bioactive peptides or biomarkers derived from hemolymph, and will help to enable a better understanding of the innate immune response of shrimps.