Food preferences of Scorpaena porcus and Serranus scriba were investigated from the stomach contents of fish caught with trammel nets in the Gulf of Palermo (Tyrrhenian Sea). Decapoda Natantia and Decapoda Brachyura were the main preferred prey in the diet of S. porcus whereas Decapoda Natantia, Decapoda Galatheidae and Pisces were the preferred prey for S. scriba. These results and the values of the index of overlapping alimentary requirements suggested competition for food resources between the two species. A more precise investigation, at species level, of the food remains of the most abundant taxon (Crustacea Decapoda) made it possible to demonstrate that the trophic niche overlap between the two fish is rather narrow and consistent with the habitat niche overlap.