<p><i>Neptunea arthritica cumingii</i> Crosse is a large carnivorous marine snail with high economic value and aquaculture potential in the northern waters of China. Due to its low feeding response to existing feeds and other limiting factors, large-scale artificial cultivation of this species has not yet been achieved. To address this limitation, we used behavioral observation to compare this snail’s preferences for five different prey species, and we also analyzed the biochemical composition of the prey species. We conducted transcriptomic analysis of the snail’s water tubes and olfactory organs using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify genes associated with feeding and fasting states. Results show significant differences in feeding preferences among the five prey species, with the highest frequency observed for Ezo scallop (<i>Mizuhopecten yessoensis</i>) and the lowest for Korean rockfish (<i>Sebastes schlegelii</i>). Comparative analysis of the prey species compositions revealed that L-glycine and L-glutamic acid might be key food attractants. Transcriptome analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in key pathways associated with feeding regulation, including neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction (ko04080), the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway (ko04151), and the oxytocin signaling pathway (ko04921). Notably, we identified neuropeptide Y (<i>NPY</i>) analogues, melanin-concentrating hormone (<i>MCH</i>), and orexin-promoting hormone precursor genes as critical feeding-related genes. These findings suggest that their enrichment in response to <i>M. yessoensis</i> feeding may contribute to an increased feeding rate. Overall, we identified the preferred prey species and potential food attractants for <i>N. cumingii</i>, thereby establishing a theoretical basis for understanding its feeding regulation mechanism and developing artificial compound feeds, with both theoretical significance and practical application value.</p>