The effect of starvation on the growth and hepatocyte nuclear size of larval rockfish Sebastes schlegeli and spotted sea bass Lateolabrax sp. were studied. The growth of total length and wet weight in both rockfish and spotted sea bass starved were lower than their control counter-parts. The nuclei sizes of parenchymal cells in the liver of rockfish and spotted sea bass were correlated with the nutritional status of their first-feeding larvae. The result suggested that hepatocyte nuclear size in rockfish and spotted sea bass could be used as an alternative indicator for the identification of starving condition and such karyometry might be criteria for evaluating the successful transition from endogenous to exogenous feeding regime.