Oxygen consumption(O2 mg/g/h)and ammonia excretion(N mg/g/h)of juvenilePenaeus monodon were measured for individual shrimp exposed to 0.001(control),0.079,0.151,0.368 and 0.751 mmol/l nitrite for 24 h in a salinity of 30 ppt(part per thousand).Nitrite uptake occurred for all groups except the controls.Oxygen consumption and ammoniaexcretion increased directly with ambient nitrite.It is suggested that the respiratoryfunction and nitrogen metabolism are affected for the P.monodon following exposure tonitrite as low as 0.151 mmol/l.