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The rise of salinity of inland waters in many regions of the world highlights the necessity of investigations of ecosystems with a naturally high level of salinity to be able to predict possible changes in freshwater under the influence of modern environmental hazards. We studied species composition, density, biomass, and estimated production of macrozoobenthos communities in the middle reach and mouth of the saline Chernavka River (Lake Elton basin, Russia) from October 2018 to September 2019. The salinity of the water varied from 24 to 34 g l−1 during the investigation period. Species richness was poor: only a total of 21 taxa were found during the study period in the Chernavka River. The average density of benthic taxa in the middle reach was 8294 ind. m−2, and in the river mouth, the average density of benthic taxa was 12,893 ind. m−2. Chironomid larvae and Ceratopogonid larvae had high density and biomass in both sites throughout the growing season. Beetle larvae had high density in summer and autumn in the mouth of the river. The production of macrozoobenthos in the middle reach was 57.7 g dry wt m−2 year−1. In the mouth reach, the production was 707.2 g dry wt m−2 year−1. In the middle reach, the greatest contribution to production was made by Palpomyia schmidti, Cricotopus salinophilus, and Ephydra sp. In the mouth reach, Chironomus salinarius, Berosus spp., and C. salinophilus contributed to benthic production the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]