In this experiment, the survival rate and change of physiological and biochemical indices of turbot Scophthalmus maximus which were kept alive at 3±0.1℃ were examined. The results showed that: ⑴ The survival rate after 60h was 95% without water. ⑵ The ATP contents of the muscle decrease obviously, and it was lower for fish kept in water than fish kept without water. ⑶ During the experiment, the MCV, BUN, CR and UA of the fish blood showed a trend of increase; however, the CR, UA and GLU for fish kept in water were obviously lower than those kept without water. The physiological and biochemical analysis revealed that, one of the reasons for fish mortality may be the inhibited excretion of metabolites, resulting in excessively high content of ammonia nitrogen which was harmful to the fish.