The pale chub (Zacco platypus) is generally found in Asian countries, such as Korea, Japan, and China. Nevertheless, very little information exists about the genes involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics in this species. This species is useful in monitoring the environmental impact on various pollutants in freshwater as a sentinel fish species. We cloned the full-length cDNA sequence of xenobiotic metabolizing cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) gene from Z. platypus and characterized it. Tissue distribution and timedependent induction of CYP1A were studied by real-time RT-PCR. Induction pattern of CYP1A was studied by exposing the fish to an arylhydrocarbon receptor agonist, ${eta}$-naphthoflavone (BNF). The liver showed the highest level of expression in basal state as well as BNF- treated fish. However, appreciable levels of expression were also recorded in Gill and kidney and the least level of expression was observed in the eye. The results of the time-course study revealed an induction in the liver, brain, and gills after 6 h and 12 h in most of the tissues. This study provides an insight into the xenobiotics metabolizing system of Z. platypus and offers baseline information for further research related to biomarker, stress, and adaptive response of this ecologically important fish species in the freshwater environment.