Sebastes pachycephalus is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae.

Sebastes pachycephalus was first formally described in 1843 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck and Hermann Schlegel with the type locality given as Japan.

[3] Sebastes pachycephalus has a relatively deep lateral compressed body with a large slight oblique terminal mouth.

There may be clear brown spotting on the dorsal, pectoral, anal and caudal fins, although in some fish these may be indistinct.

[1] The larvae and small juveniles feed on zooplankton, nearly all crustaceans and their eggs, and shelter among seagrass or macroalgae.