Abstract: A growth trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary lipid levels on growth, feed utilization, condition factors, survival rate and carcass composition and to evaluate the lipid requirement of kutum fingerlings, Rutilus frisii kutum. Five isonitrogenous experimental diets were formulated to contain graded levels of lipid (50, 80, 120, 160 and 190 g kg^-1). After 2 weeks of the conditioning period, triplicate groups of 80 kutum (initial average weight of 0.50±0.07 g, mean±SD) were stocked in 250-l tanks and fed to apparent satiation thrice a day for 8 weeks. After feeding trial, the results showed that growth performance, feed efficiency and whole-body composition were significantly affected by dietary treatment. Growth performance generally improved with increasing dietary lipid from 50-120 g kg^-1 lipid diets and slightly decreased thereafter with further increase in dietary lipid. Food conversion ratio was negatively correlated with the dietary lipid (R² = 0.897). Protein retention efficiency and energy retention efficiency, generally increased with increasing dietary lipid level but lipid retention efficiency were inversely correlated with dietary lipid concentration (p<0.05). The carcass composition of kutum was affected by dietary treatments except for ash and protein contents. The carcass lipid of fish in this study was obviously increased corresponding to dietary lipid levels. The optimal dietary lipid level, estimated by polynomial regression analysis for maximum growth of kutum fingerling was 13.55%.