The Interferon stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) is strongly induced in many cell types by IFNs, viral infections, and double-stranded RNA (poly I:C). The ISG15 homologue cDNA was isolated from the rock bream LPS stimulated leukocyte cDNA library. The rock bream ISG15 homologue was found to consist of 833 bp encoding 157 amino acid residues. Compared with other known ISG15 peptide sequences, the most conserved regions of the rock bream ISG15 peptide were found to be the tandem ubiquitin-like domains and a C-terminal LRLRGG conjugating motif, characteristic of mammalian and non-mammalian ISG15 proteins. Phylogenetic analysis based on the deduced amino acid sequence revealed a homologous relationship between the ISG15 sequence of rock bream and that of Atlantic salmon, Atlantic cod, northern snake head, black rockfish and olive flounder. The expression of the rock bream ISG15 molecule was induced in the peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) from 1 to 24 h following poly I:C stimulation, with a peak at 3 h post-stimulation. The rock bream ISG15 gene was predominantly expressed in the PBLs, spleen and gill.