In order to assess the effect of dietary taurine supplementation on the growth, body composition, digestive enzyme activity and stress resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei in freshwater, five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets based on 10% fish meal formula, supplemented 0% (A), 0.15% (B), 0.30% (C), 0.45% (D)and 0.60% (E)taurine respectively (The taurine contents were orderly 1.42, 3.07, 4.37, 5.79 and 7.48 mg/g diet), were fed to the juvenile shrimp (initial body weight 0.160±0.002 g) for 56 days. Then the growth performance, proximate composition of muscle and hepatopancreas digestive enzyme activity were investigated. The nitrite acute stress test and hypoxia stress test were also conducted. The results showed that: The dietary taurine content had no significant effect on the growth performance of the white shrimp L. vannamei (P＞0.05). The muscular total lipid content of shrimp increased and moisture declined along with the increasing dietary taurine level.The muscular total lipid contents in D and E treatments were significantly higher than those in other treatments (P＜0.05). Muscular moisture in A,B and C treatments were significantly higher than those in D and E (P＜0.05); There was no significant difference in muscular crude protein and ash between the treatments (P＞0.05).The activities of protease and lipase in hepatopancreas increased with the increase of dietary taurine content. D and E treatments displayed significantly higher protease and lipase activities than other treatments (P＜0.05). Stressed with 8.5-9.0 mg/L nitrite, D treatment displayed lower cumulative mortality at 48 h, 72 h and 84 h than other treatments. Under hypoxia stress, C treatment had lower lethal dissolved oxygen concentration than other treatments. It is therefore suggested that supplementation of 0.30%-0.45% taurine in diet containing 10% fish meal (the dietary taurine was between 4.37 and 5.79 mg/g diet) could improve the nitrite tolerance and hypoxia tolerance of the white shrimp L. vannamei in freshwater culture condition.