The drift of eggs and larvae of the Antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps is described from material collected between 1975 and 1988. Spawning is probably demersal. The fertilized eggs ascend to surface waters and are pelagic under hatching. They drift into oceanic waters where they hatch in late November/early December (Antarctic Peninsula). The larvae are neustonic and drift with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. They are dispersed across the Scotia Sea and may drift as far as South Georgia, providing evidence of gene flow to other fish populations. The pelagic ‘blue phase’ juveniles may spend the winter and second summer in the midwaters before transition to the demersal phase, although this transition may occur by the end of the first summer. The complete lack of larvae during summer and fall suggested that the egg and larval population is dispersed from Bransfield Strait and adjacent waters. Recruitment to this area is likely to be provided from the south-west with the Circumpolar Current. The life cycle of N. coriiceps is compared with other nototheniid fishes showing similar early life history characters. The adaptive significance for Antarctic fishes to produce large pelagic eggs is discussed.