Sub-chronic exposure (15 days) of Channa punctatus to sub-lethal concentrations of zinc (10, 15 and 25 Zn mg l(-1)) resulted in a significant decline of hepatic and ovarian glycogen, cholesterol, total proteins and total lipids. DNA and RNA contents were also estimated in the ovary. These parameters simultaneously decline with an increase in dose and duration of the experiment. A decline in all parameters studied thus reflects an adverse influence of Zn exposure on metabolism as well as reproductive activity of the fish.