Habitually, gills of cyprinid fish have deemed the natural habitats of Dactylogyrus spp. worldwide. Taxonomically, this common monogenean ectoparasite belongs to the Dactylogyridae family. It could be mentioned that the current study is the first comprehensive attempt at highlighting the host specificity of this flatworm parasite that affects Iraqi freshwater fish. Moreover, community components of the parasite and diversity dynamics are also elaborated upon. A total of 681 fish belonging to 18 species (Cyprinidae family) were collected in the Lesser Zab River from August 2016 to July 2017. The fish were examined monthly for diversity fluctuation and abundance in communities of gill Dactylogyrids species, host specificity, fish length, and fish weight. The results revealed the presence of 21 Dactylogyrid species, including 10 specialists and 11 generalists. Among them, the highest richness mean (252) was documented for D. carassobarbi, while the highest prevalence percentage (44.44%) was recorded for D. pavlovskyi. On the other hand, the highest mean community abundance (35.7) and mean parasite community species richness (464) were observed for D. kersini. There were no significant differences in host specificity for infested fish total lengths and weights. Regarding seasonal variations, the highest Dactylogyrid species richness was in March 2017. Most species abundance was reported on gill numbers II and III for both sides.