A list of the 493 coastal fish species known or reported from the Mauritian island of Rodrigues is presented, based on specimens of 316 species collected during a five-week survey conducted in September and October 2001. In addition to 351 species documented by photographs and specimens collected during this survey, other documented literature records and some undocumented records are included in this list of Rodrigues fishes. Of the 248 newly recorded fish species collected from Rodrigues, nine also represent undescribed (new) fish species. The new species include: Pomacentrus rodriguesensis Allen and Wright, 2003, a new species of Pempheris, two new species of Enneapterygius (Family Tripterygiidae), new species of the pseudochromid genera Chlidichthys and Anisochromis, and new species of the gobiid genera Eviota, Cabillus and Calamiana. During the survey, we noticed that in many areas of the lagoon, the substrate and reefs were covered with a thick layer of silt, and this appeared to have a marked effect on the fish diversity and amount of material collected at rotenone stations in these areas. At sites with little or no silt, more species of fishes were seen; with 71 species collected from a reef at Grand Baie. It was disturbing to note that some coral-reef fish taxa (e.g. Scorpaenidae, Serranidae [Anthiinae] Chaetodontidae, Pomacanthidae, Mullidae and Acanthuridae) were surprisingly uncommon in our lagoon reef collections, compared to collections using similar methods in similar habitats at Mauritius, the Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar and Chagos.