A study was conducted to evaluate the response of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei to inorganic or chelated sources of dietary zinc. Two sets of diets, one supplemented with zinc from zinc sulfate (55, 80, 116, 168, 243 and 363 ppm zinc) and the other with zinc from a chelated source (methionine hydroxy analog chelate; 39, 52, 65, 78 and 104 ppm zinc) were fed to replicate groups of juvenile shrimp (N = 8; 0.4 g initial weight) for 6 wk. All experimental diets contained 1.38% phytic acid reflecting levels in typical commercial feeds. Final weight, growth rate and biomass of shrimp fed zinc sulfate supplemented diets (243 and 363 ppm total zinc) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in shrimp fed the base diet. In contrast, performance of shrimp fed the chelated source of zinc was significantly higher than shrimp in the control group at much lower levels of supplementation (65 and 78 ppm total zinc). Results indicate that shrimp required 3-4 times more dietary zinc from zinc sulfate than zinc from a chelated source to promote comparable growth when fed diets containing phytic acid. The chelate tested proved to be a safe, effective and available source of zinc for the Pacific white shrimp.