Uroteuthis edulis (U. edulis) is a commercially important cephalopod species widely distributed in the coastal waters of China. It has multiple cohorts and migration habits. Migration habits are important features in cephalopods’ life history. Trace elements derived from hard structures have been proved as a useful tool to study cephalopods. In this study, the statolith trace elements of spring and summer cohorts of U. edulis in the East China Sea were measured by Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The differences in both composition and concentrations of trace elements between different cohorts (spring and summer cohorts) were analyzed and the hatching temperature and area were estimated with key environmental variables. The analysis showed that calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), strontium (Sr), iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg) were the top five elements in the spring and summer cohorts. The concentrations of the top five elements showed significant differences between two cohorts (P < 0.05). Ca, Na, Barium (Ba), Sr, Cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn) and lithium (Li) were selected as the key trace elements in two cohorts. Water temperature, salinity and mixed layer depth (MLD) were the key environmental variables affecting element concentration changes. In different growth stages of U. edulis life history, the ratios of Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca and Li/Ca in the summer cohort were higher than those in the spring cohort, whereas the ratio of Na/Ca in the summer cohort was lower than that in the spring cohort. The ratios of Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca in the two cohorts peaked in the embryonic period, and the differences in the ratios of Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca or Li/Ca between different growth stages were not significant (P > 0.05). The hatching water temperatures of spring and summer cohorts were 19$\sim$ 24 °C and 18$\sim$22 °C, respectively. The spawning ground of the summer cohort was potentially located in the center and northern part of the East China Sea. Therefore, Ca, Na, Sr, Fe and Mg elements are the potential elements for cohort discrimination and the ratios of Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, Na/Ca and Li/Ca can be used as the potential indicators to construct the habitat history of U. edulis.