Project description:The blackspotted croaker (Nibea diacanthus) is an important food fish of Indo-West Pacific and China. To study the phylogenetic status, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of N. diacanthus. The mitogenome is 16,532 bp in length and composed of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and a control region. The gene composition and the structural arrangement of N. diacanthus complete mtDNA were identical to most of other vertebrates. The phylogenetic analysis using the complete mitochondrial genome revealed that the N. diacanthus might be separated from Nibea genera of Argyrosominae, which was inconsistent with that based on morphology. The complete mitogenome data would be useful for the evolution and conservation genetic studies of Sciaenidae.