The dataset includes data on fish species distribution along the shoreline of 25 Italian lakes and reservoirs achieved by point abundance standardised electrofishing. Data were obtained between 2007 and 2014. The database offers a detailed description of the biodiversity of fish communities in the Italian regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige and Sardinia including both natural lakes and reservoirs. Detailed metadata can be found in the Freshwater Metadatabase (http://data.freshwaterbiodiversity.eu/metadb/bf_mdb_view.php?entryID=FWM_20) and in the Freshwater Metadata Journal (http://freshwaterjournal.eu).