The total viable count (TVC), pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, sensory evaluation and color of live and dead crayfish were measured during storage at 4 and 0 ℃. The results indicated that the TVC, TVB-N content, TBA value, yellowness (b* value) and total color difference (ΔE*) of both live and dead crayfish increased with storage time irrespective of storage temperature, while the pH increased after an initial decrease and the sensory evaluation score, total sulfhydryl group content and brightness (L* value) continued to decrease. Considering all above indicators together, the shelf lives of live and dead crayfish stored at 4 ℃ were 8 and 4 days, respectively, and the shelf lives of live and dead crayfish stored at 0 ℃ were 12 and 11 days, respectively. When stored at 4 ℃, the quality of live crayfish was significantly better than that of dead crayfish, whereas there was no significant difference in the quality of live and dead crayfish during storage at 0 ℃.