An experiment was carried to evaluate the effect of starvation and refeeding on expression of growth hormone releasing hormone and IGF-1 in Labeo rohita fingerlings. The experimental set up consisted of four treatments for 60 days, each with three replicates, designated as T1 (3% bw feeding alternatively, one day feeding next day starvation), T2 (0.5% bw feeding), T3 (1% bw feeding), T4 (2% bw feeding) and control group (3% bw feeding). The sampling was done on every two week interval, and total five samplings were done at 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days of the experimental trial. There was significant (p<0.05) difference in weight gain % (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) among the treatment groups the treatment groups with lowest FCR and highest PER was found in T2 group. The results of mRNA expression of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) revealed that the activity increased from 15th day towards highest at 30th day of the experiment in the T2 group. The mRNA expression of IGF-1 in liver was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in all treatment groups compared to the control group. The highest expression levels were found in T2 and T3 treatment group at 45th day of the experiment. The results showed that IGF- I was upregulated throughout the experimental trial in muscle and liver. However, the expression levels in the muscle were lower in comparison to that of the liver. The IGF-1 level increased towards the 45th day of the experiment, and higher expression was found in T2 and T3 groups. The upregulated IGF-1 mRNA expression levels during the initial period of refeeding might be one of the reasons contributes to the compensatory growth in fishes.