The extent of cellular damage was investigated after freeze-thawing of the European catfish testicular sperm with various cryoprotectants. The best protection was given by dimethylacetamide (10 and 15%) in a sucrose solution. Under these conditions, the percentage of cells with an intact membrane was high (90%), and the protection of the activity of the mitochondria was medium (47%). It was shown that the addition of dimethylacetamide largely increased the ATP content of the spermatozoa. It is suggested that this phenomenon is a decisive factor for the freezing resistance of European catfish testicular spermatozoa in the presence of dimethylacetamide (60% motility after thawing versus 90% before freezing).