Studies on production of post-larvae of the prawn Macrobrachium amazonicum under controlled laboratory conditions were developed at the Departamento de Oceanografia da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, from September 1980 to February 1982. Experiments were undertaken in aquaria and tanks where the salinity and density of the populations had been changed. The best production was obtained with salinity 14/00 with a density of 38 larvae per litre. The food provided for larvae was crushed fish and nauplii of Artemia salina. Out of 13 experiments a total of 20,000 post-larvae of Macrobrachium amazonicum were obtained.