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Between September and October 2021, a total of seven adult specimens (five females and two males) of <i>Umbrina ronchus</i> Valenciennes, 1843 were caught in the waters off Portopalo di Capo Passero and Porto Empedocle (the south-eastern coast of Sicily). This was the first record of this species in the Strait of Sicily and the deepest record of this species within the Mediterranean Sea. Individuals of <i>U. ronchus</i> ranged from 180–240 mm total length and 69–149 g total weight. Gonad stages ranged from maturing to spent/resting. Otoliths sagittae were oval shaped with high rectangular yet complex contour. Counting the growth zones by transverse section, the estimated age ranged from 3 to 5 years. Since sciaenids are considered a high-longevity species, a quite recent settlement of <i>U. ronchus</i> in the Strait of Sicily is suggested. As the biogeographic nature of the Strait of Sicily is the main boundary between the western basin, which is characterized by a high affinity for (sub)tropical Atlantic species such as <i>U. ronchus</i>, and the eastern basin, which has an affinity for the indo-pacific warm waters species, the present records could be the limit to the eastward expansion of the geographic distribution of <i>U. ronchus</i> in the Mediterranean Sea.