The Di versi ty and Productivity of benthic macl'ofaunarnaround the shallow waters of Tewalit (Massawa) were investigatedrnat three stations from October 28,1986 to Aprilrn14,1987. Eight major groups and 50 taxa were encountered.rnPolychaetes with 23 taxa were the most diverse group followedrnby gastropods with 8 taxa, and crustaceans Hith 6 taxa.rnPhysical and chemical parameters show no significantrnvariation and regulatory effec-t over the distribution andrnabundance of the taxa. The taxa indicate a high speciesrndiversity, biomass diversity and equitability. There isrnsignificant variation in similarity indices, but no variationrnin species composition among the stations. Productivityrnis estimated to be lO.16g/m2. This with mean biomass 6.9g1rnm2 resulted in a turnover rate (P:B ratio) of 1.5.