Based on review of the large amount of available data, the article has been reported from various projects implemented by Institute of Marine Environment and Resources and Research Institute for Marine Fisheries since 1990 up to now. In addition with the updated date from expedition surveys carried out in dry and wet season between 2010-2011 at key reef sites along the coastal islands and Truong Sa archipelago (Nam Yet island), a formal data showed the species diversity of coral reef fishes in the marine waters of Vietnam as details: (1) 616 species, 451 genera, ll8 families have been recorded
(2) Among 616 recorded species, there were 497 species classified as typical coral reef fishes. 9'species have been rated as endangered species according to Vietnam Red Book (2007). 16 species are new records for Checklist of Coral Reef Fishes in Vietnam, 2006 with 01 new family added for the Vietnamese marine fish fauna. (3) Four reef sites are considered as the "hot spot" of species diversity such as Quang Ninh - Cat Ba, Cu Lao Cham, Nha Trang, An Thoi (Phu Quoc, Tho Chu) and Truong Sa. However, some species only can be found in specific reef sites and may depend on the reef structure and climate conditions.