ObjectiveMicroencapsulation technologies have been developed and successfully applied to protect the probiotic bacterial cells damaged by environmental exposure. This study aimed to investigate the effects of microencapsulation ofLactobacillus plantarumMB001 on the growth performance, ileal nutrient digestibility, jejunal histomorphology and cecal microbiome of broiler chickens in a tropical climate.MethodsA total of 288 one-day-old female broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated into 4 groups (6 replicates of 12 birds). Treatments included, i) a basal diet (NC), ii) NC + avilamycin (10 mg/kg) (PC), iii) NC + non-encapsulatedL. plantarumMB001 (1×108colony-forming unit [CFU]/kg of diet) (N-LP), iv) NC + microencapsulatedL. plantarumMB001 (1×108CFU/kg of diet) (ME-LP).ResultsDietary supplementation of ME-LP improved average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers throughout the 42-d trial period (p<0.05), whereas ME-LP did not affect average daily feed intake compared with NC group. Both N-LP and ME-LP improved apparent ileal digestibility of crude protein and ether extract compared with NC group (p<0.05). The broilers fed ME-LP supplemented diet exhibited a beneficial effect on jejunal histomorphology of villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD) and villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) of broilers compared to NC group (p<0.05). At the phylum level, Firmicutes was enriched (p<0.05) and Proteobacteria was decreased (p<0.05) only in the ME-LP group. At the genus level, the ME-LP diets increased (p<0.05) the number of bothLactobacillusandEnterococcuscompared to NC, PC, and N-LP groups (p<0.05).ConclusionMicroencapsulation assists the efficient functioning of probiotics. ME-LP could be potentially used as a feed additive for improvement of cecal microbiota, gut integrity and nutrient utilization, leading to better performance of broilers.