The Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai is a valuable food resource in China. Understanding the early development of this species will allow cell fate tracking and may help to guide artificial seeding. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the morphologies of the major life stages of H. discus hannai from artificial fertilization to the juvenile stage (23 days postfertilization). The results represented the first comprehensive SEM micrograph record of early development in the Haliotidae. Special attention was also paid to shell formation in H. discus hannai, as these results might help inform biomineral-related research.