In order to explore the effects of different temporary rearing duration indoors on phenotypic characteristics， health status and muscle quality of black carp （Mylopharyngodon piceus）， an indoor feeding trial was conducted. In this experiment， average body mass of （3.30±0.12） kg of pond-raised black carps were used， commercial formulated pellets for black carp （30.05% crude protein） was fed during the trial period， and 28 d of indoor temporary rearing duration was carried out to explore the variations of phenotypic indexes， physiological and biochemical indexes， body color， muscle color， texture property， and contents of conventional nutrients， amino acids， earthy odor substances and volatile compounds in black carps on 0 d （control）， 7 d， 14 d， 21 d， and 28 d， respectively. The results showed that： body brightness and whiteness of black carp decreased significantly （P<0.05）； muscle brightness and whiteness decreased firstly and then increased （P>0.05） during the temporary rearing period； muscle chewiness and elasticity increased significantly （P<0.05） at 14， 21 and 28 d of staging time； contents of muscle essential amino acids increased （P<0.05） at 21 d of staging time； contents of earthy odor substances in muscle and liver decreased （P<0.05） during staging time. Compared with the control group， hepatic steatosis index and serum triglyceride content， HDL content， AST and AST activities were significantly decreased （P<0.05） at 21 and 28 d of staging time； malondialdehyde contents in liver and muscle were significantly decreased （P<0.05） and total antioxidant capacity was significantly increased （P<0.05） at 21 and 28 d of staging time， increased content of pleasant odors and other substances such as 2-heptanone， 1-octen-3-ol， and 2-pentylfuran in muscle at 21 and 28 d of staging time. In conclusion， at 14 d of staging time could reduce the content of earthy substances in black carp. At 21 d of staging time increased the antioxidant activity of the liver and muscle of black carp， and improved the elasticity and chewiness of the fish meat.