Like most of the other asteroids, Linckia laevigata has indirect development. This is because the life cycle of a blue sea star includes a 28-day long pelagic larval stage (Williams & Benzie 1993; Yamaguchi 1977).
        When sexually mature, separate male and female adults release sperms and eggs into the water column (Yamaguchi 1977). Males were observed to spawn before females in the lab and the peak breeding season is during summer (Laxton 1974; Yamaguchi 1977). L. laevigata larvae form when eggs become fertilized in the water column. Unlike the adults, larvae of the blue sea stars are bilaterally symmetrical (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). After a 28-day planktonic dispersal stage, the blue sea star larvae will metamorphose into a juvenile. Juveniles of L. laevigata have dark brown and green spots and as they continue to grow, these juvenile sea stars will change into a more uniform blue color (Yamaguchi 1977).