The nest building and beckoning behaviour, the female premating moult, the mating process, and parental care demonstrated by a pair of captive Macrobrachium australiense are described and compared with the reproductive activity previously recorded for several other palaemonid shrimps. This is believed to be the first record of nest building activity in the Natantia. Although M. australiense will breed in captivity without any apparent difficulty, the relatively low fecundity and small size of adults of this and most other Australian species of Macrobrachium seem to limit their economic potential for aquaculture.