Reproductive biology of the purplish Washington clam, Saxidomus purpuratus was investigated based on the samples captured in Jinhae Bay, the East China Sea from January to December 2002. The gonad index (GI) began to increase in January, reached the maximum value in March. The reproductive cycle of this species can be divided into five successive stages: the early active stage (from November to January), the late active stage (from December to February), the ripe stage (from February to May and October), the spawned stage (from May to December), and inactive stage (from November to December). The spawning period was from April to December, and the main spawning occurred between June and August. The shell length at 50% group maturity was estimated to be 71.85 mm. The Sex ratio of this species was not significantly different a 1:1 sex ratio (P > 0.05).