This work has been designed to establish and characterize primary tissue culture from freshwater fishes Orechromis niloticus and Parias gariepinus. Four organs of 0. ni/oticus, namely, gonads, kidney, liver and spleen and three organs of C. gariepinus, namely, gonads, kidney and spleen were used. The cells multiplied well in MEM-essential medium, supplemented with 10% foetal calf serum. The primary cell culture became confluent sheets after 5 and 7days, with temperature for optimal growth at 25 and 28°C for Orechromis ni/oticus and Patios gariepinus, respectively. The optimum pH was 7.2 for both species These primary cultures were attempts to establish permanent fish cell lines to be used as tool for viral isolation in freshwater fishes.