Abstract: The distribution and abundance of butterflyfishes were examined along the Egyptian coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. The total number of butterflyfish species recorded at different sites was 9 species belonging to 2 genera (in addition to 2 species recorded outside the transect on non-reef area). Site 6 (in the south) has the highest number of species at different depths, while site 1 (in the north) has the lowest number. In general, the northern sites (1 and 2) had the lowest number of individuals and species compared with the southern ones. There are two obvious patterns of butterflyfishes distribution relative to depth along the Gulf of Aqaba. The first pattern shows the total number of individual fish`s increases slightly at the Reef Edge (RE) and then decreases with depth. The second pattern, the number of species of butterflyfish showed an increase until reached a highest abundance under 15 m depths. The dominance of the butterflyfish species at different sites along the Gulf of Aqaba was alternated between two species, Chaetodon paucifasciatus and C. austriacus. Generally, C. paucifasciatus was the most abundant butterflyfish species along the Gulf of Aqaba (37.0% of total butterflyfish populations), followed by C. austriacus (29.6%). C. paucifasciatus the only species of butterflyfishes recorded on all depths at all sites.