Vibrio species distribute ubiquitously in marine and coastal environments, with implications for severe infectious diseases in human and marine animals. However, precisely what defensive strategies the host employ against Vibrio pathogens with distinct virulence remain poorly understood. Being an ecologically relevant host, the oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis serves as an excellent model for elucidating mechanisms underlying host-Vibrio interactions. In this study, we generated one mutant Vibrio alginolyticus strains (V. alginolyticus△VSCC) with attenuated virulence by knocking out the VSCC encoding gene, one of the core components of type III secretion systems (T3SSs), based on the evidence that V. alginolyticus△VSCC infection leads to a marked reduction in the apoptotic rate of hemocyte hosts, compared to V. alginolyticusWT control. In comparative proteomics, it was revealed that distinct immune responses were elicited upon encounter with V. alginolyticus strains of different virulence. Quite strikingly, the peroxisomal and apoptotic pathways are activated by V. alginolyticusWT infection, whereas phagocytosis and cell adhesion were enhanced in V. alginolyticus△VSCC infection. Collectively, we conclude that adaptation in host immune responses is determined in part by pathogen virulence, which safeguards elimination of invading bacteria in efficient and timely manners.