Abstract: The extraction of astaxanthin from shrimp shell by inner ebullition of ethanol desorption-dilute alkali extracting was carried out. The effects of technological conditions including desorption time,solvent amount,concentration and dosage of Na OH,temperature and time on the extraction were investigated.It was found that a solution with astaxanthin content 171.2 μg / g and the corresponding yield 19.5% was obtained when the shrimp shell powder was desorbed in 12 mL ethanol( 95%) and subsequently extracted by a 30 mL NaOH solution(1.0 mol/L) for 4 min.This presented process can be conducted in a nontoxic organic solvent with few consumption,and the extracted solution is bright.In addition,it shows a favorable extracting effect even in short-term extraction.