The influence of eating habits and food type on the ultrastructural characteristics of the digestive tracts was studied under the scanning and transmission electron microscopes in two crustacean decapods (Hemigrapsus penicillatus De Haan; mud crab, Pinnotheres cyclinus Shen; symbiotic crab). The relative ratio of the length of midgut versus hindgut was 1:1 in the mud crab, but 4:1 in the symbiotic crab. Observation through the scanning electron microscope revealed that the midguts of both species have densely-arranged longitudinal mucosal folds with a smooth surface. In the hindgut of the mud crab, mucosal folds were longitudinally oriented, clusters of two to five spines were observed on the cuticular surface, and the length of the spine in the distal hindgut was longer than that in the proximal portion. In the symbiotic crab, the mucosal folds were irregulary arranged, and numerous rudimentary spinal structures were noted on the cuticular surface. Through observation of a transmission electron microscope, the epithelial cells of the midgut in both species had numerous microvilli, but the length of the microvilli was slightly longer in the mud crab than in the symbiotic crab. The central layer of the basement membrane and the muscular layer of the midgut were more developed in the mud crab than in the symbiotic crab. The thickness of the cuticular layer over the hindgut surface in the mud crab was about 4 times than that of the symbiotic crab.