To investigate the genetic structures and differentiation of different wild populations of white croaker (Pennahia argentata), horizontal starch gel electrophoresis was performed on 133 individuals collected from five different locations in China and Japan. The eleven enzyme systems revealed 15 loci, of which eleven were polymorphic. The percentage ofpolymorphic loci of white croaker populations varied from 6.67% to 53.33%; the mean observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.0033 to 0.0133and 0.0032 to 0.0191, respectively. The expected heterozygosity revealed a low genetic variability for white croaker in comparison with other marine fishes. The genetic distances between populations ranged from 0.00005 to 0.00026. A weak differentiation was observed within each clade and between clades; and no significant differences in gene frequencies among populations were observed in white croaker. Among the five populations, three Chinese populations showed more genetic diversity than that in Japanese populations.