The possibility of introduction of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L) viscera, which is regarded as fish processing industry by-products, as a potential source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for the pharmaceutical and food industries was investigated within the frames of this work. Supercritical fluid CO2 extraction was employed as an adequate separation technique for isolation of theses bioactive components. The fatty acid profile of the SFE-CO2 extracts produced by the GC-FID analysis proved the significant presence of investigated bioactive components -omega-3 and omega-6 PUFA. The 3D response surface methodology was employed to investigate the influence of the operating parameters -pressure, temperature, CO2 flow rate and extraction time, as well as their interactions, on the yield of total extract. The analysis of the dynamics of the SFE-CO2 process indicated that an equilibrium state was achieved after 180 min, where the extraction yield-extraction time curve reached a plateau. Created prediction model includes the linear, quadratic and cross-product terms and was found as adequate for the investigated system through the high value of the correlation coefficient. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.