Atractoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fished belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers.

[1] This genus is classified in the family Sciaenidae which is placed within the suborder Sciaenoidei of the order Acanthuriformes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.

[3] Atractoscion is a combination of atracto, which means "spindle", an allusion Gill did not explain, but it mau have referred to the more cylindrical body shape of this genus in comparison to the typical members of the Sciaenidae, with scion, the modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, Gill preferring this over “sciaena” because he considered that it sounded better.

[4] There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus:[5] Atractoscion fishes are characterised by having elongate fusiform, compressed bodies with an oval cross-section.

[6] The largest species in the genus is the white seabass (A. nobilis) which has a maximum published total length of 166 cm (65 in).