Many factors affect the flavor of crabs. However, impact of temperature on flavor has not been reported. Here, we examined Scylla paramamosain collected within the main four producing areas in China from north sampling point (NP) and south sampling point (SP), respectively. The contents of flavouring-related substances in hepatopancreas, muscles and gonads were determined by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Meanwhile, high-throughput sequencing of 16S RNA gene was used to reveal the diversity distribution of gut microbiota at each sample collection point. Comparisons among flavor substances of edible parts, the implied higher temperature in SP may be beneficial to the accumulation of flavor substances in gonads, while lower temperature in NP may be beneficial to the accumulation of flavor substances in muscles and hepatopancreas. The gut microbiota of crabs, was analyzed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results of gut microbiota showed that there were significant differences in the distribution of gut microbiota in NP and SP. The microbiota composition of SP has a high distribution richness and no absolute dominant bacteria, while NP has absolute dominant bacteria and its microbiota richness was lower than SP. The results of redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that there was a significant correlation between temperature and the relative abundance of gut microbiota, and a significant correlation between gut microbiota and the content of flavor substances. This study indicates that temperature may be one of the main factors for the differences of flavor substances between SP and NP, which was most probably mediated by gut microbiota. Further exploration is needed with laboratory experiments in which the environment is more precisely controlled if these views are to be determined.Mud crab Scylla paramamosain is a commercially important crab widely distributed along the coast of southern China and other Indo-Pacific countries 1-3 . Because of its abundance, fast growth, and high market value, this species is important for both fisheries and aquaculture in southern China 4,5 . S. paramamosain have been targeted for aquaculture throughout the Asian region 6,7 and provide commercially viable fishery resources for coastal fishing communities due to high prices in domestic and overseas markets 1,8-11 .S. paramamosain has received increasing attention for its great taste, abundant nutrients and medicinal uses 5,12 . The price of the crab depends highly on its flavor. Due to the flavor differences, the market price of mud crabs varies greatly, that good quality mud crabs costing up to $20/kg with more than those of lower quality. A full and well-developed phenotype is often the premise of good quality, especially gonads of female (the gonads of male mud crabs are very small and represent a negligible edible part). Well-developed ovaries of crabs ensure a high market price, and so female crabs with developed ovaries (Fig. S1A,C) receive a higher price compared with male crabs (Fig. S1B,D). Similar to E. sinensis, ...