The present study aimed to improve the growth rate of the Bangladeshi native climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) through crossbreeding with Vietnam‐originated climbing perch, which is commercially cultured in Bangladesh. Therefore, crossbred between native and Vietnam strains of A. testudineus were evaluated in the first year (F1) as T1—Native ♀ × Native ♂, T2—Vietnam ♀ × Vietnam ♂, T3—Native ♀ × Vietnam ♂, and T4—Vietnam ♀ × Native ♂. In the second year (F2), backcrosses were performed between native and F1 generations as T5—Native ♀ × F1 (T3) ♂ and T6‐F1 (T3) ♀ × Native ♂ following five replicates in each treatment group. The F1 crossbreds of T4 were irregular in size with low survivability than T3, and therefore were not used as a parent in the second‐year backcross experiment. The breeding performances were reduced in the T4 (F1) and T6 (F2) compared to purebreds (T1 and T2). The specific growth rate (0.75%/day) of T5 and T6 was substantially lower than T3 and T4 but was considerably superior to the T1 and T2 purebred. The heterosis effect was highly evident in T6 (27.94%), whereas negative heterosis was determined in the crossbreds of the F1 generation (T4). Ten morphometric characteristics were compared and the caudal fin length, pectoral fin length, eye diameter, and body depth were responsible for the variation among T1–T6 groups by the second principal component. Furthermore, the results showed that the Bangladeshi native female climbing perch is linked with better breeding performances, and the Vietnam strain male is linked with better growth performance. Finally, the current breeding programme could enhance native climbing perch growth and survivability, which may have aquaculture potential and can be used through careful artificial selection on the commercial farm.