The objective of this study was to compare the quality characteristics of cultured and red sea bream. The color of dorsal muscle was different between wild and cultured red sea bream. Lipid content of the dorsal muscle was higher in cultured fish than in wild one. The contents of moisture and crude protein in cultured fish muscle were almost same as those of wild one. Sensory evaluation of raw fish meat showed that cultured fish had lower preference in appearance, taste and texture than wild one. Especially the texture of cultured raw fish meat had lower preference than wild meat. For cooked fish meat, cultured fish were harder and less juicy than wild fish. These textural differences between wild and cultured meats were confirmed by objective evaluation including the measurements of hardness, springiness, and cohesiveness. Light microscopic observation showed that cultured red sea bream had more lipid in the surface layer near epidermis than wild one. Also more lipid droplet between muscle fibers were observed in cultured red sea bream by SEM.