To systematically evaluate the culture performance of different early-maturing strains of Chinese mitten crab （Eriocheir sinensis） during the adult stage， culture experiments were conducted with four strains： Shenjiang No. 1 （SJ）， Guanghe No. 1 （GH）， unselected Liao strain （ULS） ，and Northern-breed strain（NBS）. Key indicators such as average body weight， puberty molting， organ coefficients， survival rate and yield were compared. The results revealed that： （1） The average body weight of SJ individuals （both female and male） in the mid-to-late adult rearing stage （July and September） was significantly higher than that of ULS （P<0.05）， with GH and NBS ranking between them. （2） The puberty molting rate and gonadosomatic index（GSI） of ULS （both female and male） were the highest at all sampling points. On August 10 and August 25， the puberty molting rate of ULS was significantly higher than that of SJ and GH （P<0.05）， while on October 28， their GSI was significantly higher than that of GH （P<0.05）. （3） The survival rate of ULS was significantly lower than that of SJ and NBS， and the male and overall yield of ULS was significantly lower than that of the other strains （P<0.05）. In conclusion， SJ outperformed the other strains in average body weight， the proportion of large-size adult crabs， and final yield. However， its puberty molting rate and gonadal development speed were slightly lower than those of ULS. Thus， the selection of suitable early-maturing varieties （strains） of E. sinensis for adult culture in different region should be based on specific production requirements.