The effect of initial lipid content and temperature on the salting behaviour of anchovy (Engraulis anchoita) was studied. For this purpose brining of anchovy with variable initial lipid content (2.69-7.76 g 100 g(-1)) was performed at temperatures between 5 and 35 degrees C. The obtained results indicate that initial mass transfer rate increased with brining temperature. Moreover, mass transfer rate was inversely related to the initial lipid content. In order to explain the dependence of the mass transfer rate on these variables two novel mathematical models were proposed. It was determined that both, salt gain and water loss rate constants depend on initial lipid content, whereas temperature only affects constants for salt transfer. In addition, salt gain constants depend linearly with initial lipid content and inversely with brining temperature. On the other hand, water loss rate constant was a function of the initial lipid content, fitting to a quadratic equation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.