The feeding ecology of the small-bodied benthic naked goby Gobiosoma bosc, a western Atlantic species that occurs in estuaries and other inshore habitats from Connecticut to Texas U.S.A., was investigated in a total of four estuaries spanning South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and New Jersey. Gut content analysis of 391 individuals revealed that G. bosc is a benthic microcarnivore that feeds primarily on polychaetes, gammarid amphipods and harpacticoid copepods. Diet composition varied with body size, tidal creek within an estuary and geographic region. Analyses of gut fullness suggestthatG.boscisadaytimevisualpredatorandthatnestandeggguardingduringthereproductive season reduce foraging activity in mature males. Additionally, G. bosc infected with adult digenean parasitesofthegutforagedmoreintenselythanuninfectedindividuals,arelationshipthatwasstrongest for reproductively mature males. Regionally, significant variation in dietary breadth was documented and may reflect a foraging response to a decrease in prey diversity moving from estuaries of higher salinity and lower latitude to estuaries of lower salinity and higher latitude. These results contribute to anunderstandingofthelifehistoryofG.boscandtheroleplayedbythiscommonspeciesinestuarine food webs.