Due to emergency of antimicrobial resistance, the supplementation of antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) in poultry feeds has been limited. Thus, it is urgent to explore antimicrobial alternatives such as enzymes as feed additives. This study investigated and compared the effects of AGP and dietary protease as feed additives on growth performance, gut health, and meat quality of broiler chickens. As results, we found that dietary proteases tended to promote growth performance, enhanced nutrient digestibility and intestinal morphology compared with birds fed basal which is similar as AGP. In conclusion, protease use could be an interesting tool in reducing AGP.