The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of Stereolepis doederleini was sequenced from a specimen collected in a commercial aquarium in Jeju Island. The sequence was 16,513 base pairs in length and, similar to other vertebrate mt genomes, included 37 mt genes and a noncoding control region; the gene order was identical to that of typical vertebrate mt genome. Mitochondrial genome sequences of 17 species from 12 families were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within the order Pempheriformes. The phylogenetic trees were constructed with three methods (neighbor joining [NJ], maximum likelihood [ML], and Bayesian method) using 12 protein coding genes, but not ND6. In all phylogenetic trees, Pempheriformes were clustered into three strongly supported clades. Two Acropomatidae species (Synagrops japonicus in clade-Ⅰ and Doederleinia berycoides in clade-Ⅲ) were polyphyletic; S. japonicus was close to Lateolabracidae and was the sister of Glaucosomatidae + (Pempheridae/(Percophidae+Creediidae)), and D. berycoides was sister to Howellidae + Epigonidae. All phylogenetic trees supported a sister relationship between Creediidae and Percophidae in clade-Ⅰ. Glaucosomatidae formed a sister clade with Pempheridae. The relationships within clade-Ⅱ, which was composed of four families (Pentacerotidae, Polyprionidae, Banjosidae, and Bathyclupeidae), slightly differed between NJ/ML and BI tree topologies. In clade-Ⅲ, the relationships among Howellidae, Epigonidae, and Acropomatidae were strongly supported.