The present study is the first documentation of the metazoan parasitofauna of freshwater fishes in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh state. The study was conducted for a period of two years i.e. June 2014 to May 2016. The Prevalence and mean intensity of metazoan parasitic infection and various community characteristics, together with the qualitative similarity of metazoan parasites among species and families of the fishes were determined of the 15 fish species of freshwater fishes of Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh belonging to nine different families. Metazoan parasite fauna of this geographical area is very less diverse with only 23 species of parasites belonging to 5 major taxa: three species of monogeneans, 15 digenea of which 8 adult digeneans and 7 larval trematodes, 2 cestodes, 2 copepods and one acanthocephalan. Prevalence of infection ranged from 13.3% (Wallago attu) to 34.3% (Clarias batrachus) and mean intensity from 1.17 (M. aculeatus) to 3.0 (G. giurus). The infra and component communities of parasites were somewhat characteristic/ peculiar. The dominance pattern of the major taxa was in the order Digenea > Monogenea > Cestodes = Copepods > acanthocephalans. Mastacembelus armatus, Macrognathus aculeatus and Mastacembelus pancalus showed the richest parasite fauna whereas Catla catla, Cyprinus carpio, Notopterus notopterus, M. pancalus and Heteropneustus fossilis showed least rich fauna and Cirrhinus mrigala marked none. The parasite faunas of M. armatus, M. aculeatus and M. pancalus and that of M. vittatus and S. seenghala and C. punctatus and G. giurus were similar. However, in spite of taxonomic nearness and the similarity of habits and habitats of 4 species of cyprinids (C. catla, C. mrigiala, L. rohita and C. carpio), their parasite fauna were qualitatively dissimilar of the 3 species of parasites encountered in them only one was shared by the 2 host species.
