The flavor quality of traditional fermented fish in Guizhou exhibits significant regional variations, yet its microbial and metabolic mechanisms remain unclear. This study integrated sensory evaluation, high-throughput sequencing, and untargeted metabolomics to compare the quality, microbial communities, and metabolite profiles of fermented fish from Jinping, Liping, and Tianzhu. Results showed that Liping samples demonstrated optimal performance in flavor harmony, acidity perception, and textur