The complete mitochondrial genome of Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) was determined by direct sequencing of PCR products. The Chinese sturgeon mitochondrial DNA is a circular molecule (16,688 bp in length) with the typical gene arrangement of vertebrate mtDNA, containing 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA and 22 transfer RNA genes, and a non-coding control region. Its control region contains 4.5 copies of unit with 82 bp long at 5' end, which has been reported before for this species. Phylogenetic tree based on 13 protein-coding genes confirmed that the complete mtDNA sequence of Chinese sturgeon was reported here for the first time.