Abstract: Selected body temperature (Tsel),critical thermal maximum (Tcmax),critical thermal minimum (Tcmin),and influence of temperature on food assimilation and locomotor performance were studied in adult male lacertid lizards,Eremias brenchleyi,from a population in Suzhou,Anhui,eastern China.Tsel,Tcmax and Tcmin were 33.7,43.6 and 3.3℃,respectively.Temperature significantly affected food passage time,food intake,apparent digestive coefficient (ADC),assimilation efficiency (AE) and locomotor performance of lizards.The food passage time decreased with increase in temperature from 26 to 30℃ and increased at higher temperatures.Food intake,ADC and AE were lower at 26 and 28℃ than at higher temperatures.The sprint speed increased with increase in body temperature from 19 to 34℃,and then decreased dramatically at higher temperatures.The length of continuous locomotion was apparently greater at 31 and 34℃ than at other lower or higher temperatures,and decreased dramatically at the body temperatures higher than 36℃.The average number of stops in the racetrack was significantly greater in lizards with body temperatures higher than 34℃ than in those with body temperatures from 19 to 34℃.Our results suggest that the optimal body temperatures for locomotion are 31-34℃,and the body temperature has pervasive effects on food assimilation and locomotion performance in lizards Eremias brenchleyi.