1. Dabry's sturgeon, a large, long-lived migratory fish is endemic to the Yangtze River. Overfishing and habitat destruction have caused large-scale declines in natural stocks in the last two decades. 2. Examining patterns of genetic diversity has become an integral component of many management plans for endangered species. DNA fingerprinting was applied to detect genetic diversity in Dabry's sturgeon collected in 1958-1959, 1980-1981 and 1998-1999. 3. Studies on direct genetic parameters (genetic variability, hypervariable loci and heterozygosity) and indirect parameters (band-sharing coefficient and allelic frequency) showed that the continuous decline in wild populations has caused the loss of genetic diversity in present-day sturgeon. 4. The present-day populations have the lowest genetic variability; thus, effective management is needed to preserve genetic diversity. 5. A conservation strategy is urgently required, comprising artificial rearing facilities coupled with breeding management plans. Copyright # 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.