A survey of the parasites of capelin (Mallotus villosus) caught on the spawning grounds at five localities in the estuary of the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, was conducted in 1994. From examination of 125 fish, a total of 21 parasite taxa was identified (2 Protista, 3 Monogenea, 4 Digenea, 4 Cestoda, 7 Nematoda, and 1 Acanthocephala). Seven new host records are reported for this fish (Trichodina sp., Brachyphallus crenatus, Bothrimonus sturionis, Ascarophis sp., Pseudoterranova decipiens larva, Spirurida gen.sp. larva, and Echinorhynchus laurentianus). The parasite fauna of capelin is comparatively depauperate. It is characterized by the relative abundance of a few species showing a high level of host specificity (Microsporidium sp., Trichodina sp., Gyrodactyloides andriaschewi, G. petruschewskii, Laminiscus gussevi, and Eubothrium parvum) that mature on or in capelin, several ubiquitous adult digeneans (e.g., B. crenatus, Derogenes various, Hemiurus levinseni, and Lecithaster gibbosus), and a number of species that use capelin as intermediate or transport hosts (e.g., Scolex pleuronectis plerocercoid, Anisakis simplex larva, Contracaecinea gen.sp. larva, and Hysterothylacium aduncum larva).