The present study describes the distribution patterns of the early life stages of pelagic cephalopods in three different areas of the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean. Specimens were collected during the Meteor-expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1987 by means of multiple opening/closing nets in the top 150m of the water column. A total of 3836 specimens were caught at 67 stations. The following taxa were prevailing: Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (Ommastrephidae), Abralia marisarabica and Abraliopsis lineata (Enoploteuthidae), Onychoteuthis banksi (Onychoteuthidae), and Liocranchia reinhardti (Cranchiidae). While the enoploteuthid species dominated the two neritic regions (the stations grids off Oman and Pakistan), the ommastrephid and cranchiid species were most abundant in the oceanic waters of the central Arabian Sea. The geographical and vertical distribution patterns of the taxa were analyzed and are discussed along with hydro graphic features which characterized the different areas. The data provide new and important information on the spawning areas of pelagic tropical cephalopod
