The spiny lobster Panulirus homarus is an economically important lobster in the tropical and subtropical areas with a great potential for aquaculture. To identify the water temperature range for survival and feeding, the effects of gradual and acute temperature change on feeding and survival of P. homarus were investigated in this study. The effects of different temperatures (22, 25, 28, 31, and 34℃) on survival rate, feed utilization efficiency, molting, and growth of P. homarus were tested to determine the optimum culture temperature. The experiments were lasted for 90 d, and the results showed that the survival temperature range of P. homarus was 13-36℃, and the optimum temperature was at 20-30℃. In the temperature range 22-31℃, the survival rate and specific growth rate began to increase, peaked at 28℃, and then decreased. Significant differences were observed among different temperature groups (P < 0.05). Temperature has a significant effect on feed conversion ratio (FCR) for P. homarus. The 31℃ group had the highest FCR (6.43±0.28), the lowest FCR occurred for the 28℃ group (5.75±0.70), which was significantly different from that of the other groups. The molt cycle duration of P. homarus decreased with the increase in temperature. Spiny lobsters cultured at 31℃ had the shortest molt cycle duration (16.7 d), and the longest molt duration occurred at 22℃ being 18.8 d; however, there were no significant differences among the test groups (P > 0.05). In conclusion, in aquaculture of P. homarus, water temperature should be controlled at 28℃.