Clam, Tapes japonica, has been widely used and occupies an important position in the markets. More than thirty kinds of fermented fish and shellfish are presently available in the markets in korea. This study was attempted to establish the basic data for evaluating the taste compounds of the clam. The free amino acids as taste compounds during the fermentation of the clam, Tapes japonica, were analyzed by an amino acid autoanalyzer. Alanine (17.0%), glycine (15.5%), taurine (13.9%) were high in amount in the fresh clam and then glutamic acid, arginine, tyrosine, asparagine, lysine, threonine, serine and leucine were the next in order. Such amino acids as methionine, phenylalanine, histidine and cystine were low in amounts. The total free amino acid nitrogen in the fresh clam was 45.5% of its extract nitrogen. During the fermentation of the clam, the kinds of the free amino acids were the same with the fresh samples although the amounts were changed. It is believed that glutamic acid, aspartic acid, glycine, alanine, lysine, and leucine may play an important role as the taste compounds in the fermented clam.