The darkbarbel catfish (Pelteobagrus vachelli), a species of significant economic value in China's aquaculture sector, is widely utilized in hybrid yellow catfish production due to its exceptional growth rate. The growth rate of male P. vachelli is significantly higher compared to females, making all-male breeding a promising market opportunity. Therefore, the analysis of the male P. vachelli genome provides crucial genetic information for hybrid breeding and all-male breeding. Utilizing PacBio Hifi long-read sequencing and Hi-C technologies, we present a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly for the male P. vachelli. The assembly covers 728.88 Mb with 99.92% of the sequence distributed across 26 chromosomes. The contig N50 is 5.60 Mb, and the scaffold N50 is 28.76 Mb. The completeness of the P. vachelli genome assembly is highlighted by a BUSCO score of 97.45%. The genome is estimated to encode 25,121 protein-coding genes, with 93.46% annotated functionally and a BUSCO score of 96.40%. Repeat elements constitute approximately 38.97% of the genome. This comprehensive genome assembly represents an invaluable resource for advancing hybrid breeding, comparative genomics, and evolutionary studies in catfish and related species.