There is limited information on structure and trophodynamics of plankton food web in the oligotrophic and unproductive Kuroshio of the East China Sea where many foraging fishes reproduce and recruit. In the present study, we applied 18S metabarcoding diet analysis to 22 mesozooplankton groups including 13 copepod families dominating in the Kuroshio, to explore trophic sources and linkages of plankton community.