Purpose This study explores the influence of quality attributes and socio-demographics on Chinese consumers' general and online consumption of three origin-specific lobsters: Canadian, United States and Australian. Design/methodology/approach A web-based survey was administrated to 981 consumers from two cities in China: Shanghai and Qingdao. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were used in the data analysis. Findings Chinese consumers were more willing to pay for the lobster quality attributes vitality, meat content, texture, size and safety. Their general and online consumption of three origin-specific lobsters is significantly linked to the following quality attributes and socio-demographics: meat content, size, shell hardness, texture, safety, nutrition, age, income, education, occupation, residential place and marital status. Originality/value This is the first study to explore the influence of quality attributes and socio-demographics on consumers' online consumption of luxury seafood.