In March 2013, two diseased alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) were collected from a aquarium in Chengdu (Sichuan Province, China) and they were transferred alive to the Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province. Symptoms included energetic dispirited, crawled in weakness, slow response to external stimulation; local redness and swelling in the the neck and limbs, plastron ulcerated and perforated (Fig. 1). Bacteriologic test, pathology observation and PCR detection were performed to identify the etiological factors of alligator snapping turtle. Bacteriologic test was negative; Histopathologically, the lesions were appeared in multi-organs and tissues, especially in kidney, liver, lung and heart. The main pathologic lesions were degeneration, necrosis and infiltration of the inflammation cells, and with acidophilic or basophilia cytoplasm of inclusions. Intracytoplasmic inclusions may be found in various cell types, including (Fig. 2). In addition, The PCR results of two samples were positive for ranavirus. A 500 bp fragment (Fig. 3) of the major capsid protein gene was amplified and sequenced. GenBank BLAST searches on the sequences revealed identities of 95% to 99% with that of ranavirus. From the PCR results and pathological character, we speculated that ranavirus infection caused the death of the alligator snapping turtle.