we newly provided the parameters for estimating meat quality in live pigs using the muscle biopsy. The biopsied longissimus thoracis muscle was used to identify the muscle fibre characteristics (MFCs). Of the various MFCs in biopsied muscle, muscle fibre number (MFN) composition showed the greatest correlation with the MFCs in postmortem muscle ( P P Highlights MFC were measured in the biopsied longissimus thoracis muscle. MFN compositions measured in live and postmortem were highly correlated. Clusters based on biopsied MFN composition were associated with meat quality. MFN of biopsied muscle could be used to estimate ultimate meat quality in live animals.