The present study aimed to evaluate the lipid content and fatty acid profiles of 9 marine species (Nannochloropsis oculata, Thalassiosira pseudonana, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmis suecica, Tetraselmis chuii, Chaetoceros muelleri, Thalassiosira fluviatilis and Isochrysis sp.) and 1 freshwater microalga species (Chlorella vulgaris) that were cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks with 800 mL of culture medium under stationary autotrophic conditions while exposed to a continuous photon flux density of approximately 175 umol m-2 s-1, a temperature of 25±2 ºC and constant airflow. N. oculata and T. pseudonana exhibited the highest lipid content, although they had a high proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids relative to polyunsaturated fatty acids. C. vulgaris and Isochrysis sp. exhibited high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, whereas P. tricornutum, N. oculata and T. suecica exhibited the highest eicosapentaenoic acid levels, and I. galbana and C. muelleri had the highest docosahexaenoic fatty acid levels. The freshwater species C. vulgaris had the highest levels of linoleic and linolenic acids, followed by the marine species T. chuii.