This work deals with the damaging effects of mercury (Hg concentrations 251, 355, 501 microgl(-1)) on the structure and ultrastructure of gills, liver, intestine and kidney of farmed European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758) acutely treated for 24 and 48 h. The histoarchitecture of the gills of exposed fish was highly modified due to severe oedema, telangiectasia and secondary lamellar fusion. In hepatocytes and enterocytes hydropic cell swelling, alterations to the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria were noted, in addition to an abundance of myelinoid bodies which were frequently encountered following treatment. In the intestine and renal tubules of exposed European sea bass, rodlet cells (RCs) displayed ultrastructural modifications. Statistical analyses were conducted on the number and the size of selected cell types and structures. Following exposure to mercury for 24 and 48 h, the number of chloride cells, RCs and macrophage aggregates were found to have increased significantly in the gills, the intestine and the head kidney.