In order to know the nutrition demands of Litopenaeus vannamei during the middle stage of selective breeding preservation period, juvenile shrimps [(10.30±1.61) g/ind.] from the same breeding family were fed with two artificial diets [formula feed (ZD) or soft pellet feed (YW)] or two live diets [Sepia pharaonis (SP) or Perineresis aibuhitensis (PA)] for 60 days. The nutrition composition of these four diets was determined and the effects of different diets on the growth performance, survival rate and the expression levels of digestion and growth-related genes were evaluated. The results showed that: shrimps which were fed with PA had the highest specific growth rate and survival rate, followed by ZD, YW, and SP; expression levels of α-amylase d4 and trypsin in hepatopancreas of shrimps fed with artificial diets were significantly higher than those fed with live diets; the expression level of pancreatic lipase in shrimps fed with PA or YW was significantly higher than that of formula feed. Shrimps fed with SP had significantly lower expression level of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptide G (SNRPG) than others, whereas shrimps fed with live diets had significant higher expression level of y+L amino acid transporter 2 than those fed with artificial diets. the PA and SP had relatively higher amino acid evaluation scores, while ZD and PA possessed optimal fatty acid composition and content. In conclusion, PA and YW had the highest and lowest nutritional values, respectively; among the four diets, shrimps fed with PA had the best growth performance, and the expression patterns of digestion or growth-related genes were consistent with the nutrition composition (except trypsin) of the diets.