The lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-α factor (LITAF) gene was identified from humphead snapper (Lutjanus sanguineus) spleen using homologous cloning and RACE PCR, designated as Ls-LITAF. The full length cDNA of Ls-LITAF was 815 bp, contained an ORF of 447 bp encoding a polypeptide of 148 amino acids with predicted molecular mass of 15.7 ku. Sequence alignment showed that Ls-LITAF possessed a typical LITAF domain with a CXXC and (H)xCxxC motif, shared high similarities with other fish LITAF proteins. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Ls-LITAF clustered closely with known fish LITAFs. Ls-LITAF was distributed in all analyzed tissues with higher expressions in gill, spleen, skin and head kidney. After Vibrio harveyi infection, the expression levels of Ls-LITAF were up-regulated significantly in spleen and head kidney. These results provided a reference to further investigate the roles of Ls-LITAF in immune response of Lutjanus sanguineus.