Abstract: Southern Ocean has significant specificity, with remarkable endemicity and adaptation capability of fish to extreme environment in this region. Otolith microchemistry records the whole life history of fish, revealing the temporal and spatial changes of environment experienced by the fish. Analysis of microchemical elements in otoliths can solve a series of practical problems in fish ecology, including spawning ground identification, migration route calculation, life history process reconstruction, and population structure delineation. With the continuous improvement of this technique, it is becoming a good tool for microchemical analysis of marine fish otoliths. The otolith microchemistry of fish species in the Southern Ocean were less understood. Only 3 families and 11 species of fish were analyzed, accounting 5% of total fish species in the Southern Ocean. Those species of Antarctic fish included Dissostichus eleginoides, D. mawsoni, Electrona carlsbergi, E. antarctica, Champsocephalus gunnari and Pleuragramma antarcticum. Related studiesfocused mainly on habitat reconstruction, population delineation and life history process retrospection of fish. New technologies, such as microcomputed tomography scanning and artificial intelligence, will provide important support for otolith microchemical analysis of Antarctic fish species. Considering the typical circumpolar distribution of most fish species in the Southern Ocean, the otolith microchemical technique can be used to explore the natal origin presumption and circumpolar connectivity of fish, which would be a practical promising for elucidating the biophysical interaction of Antarctic fish. This review can provide the underpinning information forexploitation, utilization and effective management of fish resources in the Southern Ocean.

Key words: Antarctic fish, otolith, microchemistry, bio-physical interaction.