Abstract: The anadromous shad Tenualosa ilisha (hilsa) is one of the most important species in coastal and estuarine waters, which contributes over 13% of the total fish production of Bangladesh. Age and growth of this valuable species from the River Meghna Bangladesh, were studied with transverse sections of otoliths. Otoliths opaque zones that formed every year were thought to be annual rings. Growth of this species was rapid during the first two years, reaching 37.0 cm in fork length. Most of the specimens were 2-4 years old and accounted for 90% in total. The maximum age recorded was 6 years with 52.5 cm in fork length. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters L∞ and K for this species were 52.0 cm and 0.71 for year-1, respectively. The total, natural and fishing mortality were Z = 2.61 year-1, M = 1.22 year-1 and F = 1.39 year-1, respectively. The exploitation rate, E = 0.53, revealed a high fishing pressure on the stock. The estimated length-weight relationship for the combined sexes was found to be W = 0.0225*FL2.880. The study indicated that age and growth of T. ilisha can be determined using its sectioned otolith and process needs to be validated.