The mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) (鱖魚), is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Sinipercidae, the Oriental perches. It is the type species of the genus Siniperca (Chinese perches).
It is found in lowland freshwater habitats throughout continental East Asia excluding the Korean Peninsula, from the drainage basin of the Amur River in Russian Far East/Northeast China to the Pearl River in South China.
Mandarin fish is both a popular game fish among anglers and a commercially important species in China, as it is a popular food fish and has been widely farmed in its native range since the 20th century. It first gained major popularity during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), appearing in many Chinese books and poems. The farmed fish are typically purebred, but sometimes hybrids between this species and its close relative the golden mandarin fish (S. scherzeri). The famed Jiangsu dish of squirrel fish is typically prepared with mandarin fish.