Effects of dietary protein levels (34%,38%,42%) on the growth and survival of Penaeus monodon from 16 families were studied under laboratory conditions. The growth and survival of Penaeus monodon were significantly affected by the dietary protein levels. Except for shrimp from F14 family and F15 family, the specific growth rate (SGR) of Penaeus monodon increased with the increasing of dietary protein levels. A total of 11 families achieved the highest survival rate when the dietary protein level was 38%, and 5 families achieved the highest survival rate when the dietary protein level was 34%, while only 4 families achieved the highest survival rate when the dietary protein level was 42%. As the dietary protein level increased, the growth differences of the sixteen families reduced, and this may indicate that the genetic effects of shrimps in terms of growth can be revealed under lower dietary protein level. By comparing the parental source of the families, we found that Family 10 whose parents were from Africa achieved the highest SGR. Significant differences were found within the same group and among different protein level groups among those families whose parents were from the same region. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to get highly performed Penaeus monodonfamilies whose dietary protein requirement was low via family selection program.