The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary alfalfa meal and cellulase on lipid metabolism, antioxidant capacity and intestinal flora of layers. A total of 210 Hyline brown layers aged 40 weeks were randomly divided into 7 groups and 3 replicates in each group and 10 layers in each replicate. The layers were fed a basal diet containing 0 (control group), 3% (group 1), 5% (group 2), 7% (group 3) alfalfa meal and 7% alfalfa meal plus 0.1% (group 4), 0.2% (group 5) and 0.3% (group 6) cellulase, respectively. The results showed as follows: 1) the contents of triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) in serum of layers were decreased with the increasing of dietary alfalfa meal and cellulose levels, and above indexes in groups 3, 4, 5 and 6 were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), but there were no significant differences among groups 4, 5 and 6 (P>0.05). 2) The contents of TG and TC in liver, muscle and yolk of layers in experimental groups were decreased to some extent. In liver, TC content in groups 3, 4 and 5 and TG content in group 6 were the lowest among all groups; in muscle, TC content in groups 5 and 6 was the lowest; in yolk, the contents of TC and TG in groups 4, 5 and 6 were the lowest. All of the above were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), but there were no significant differences in the contents of TC and TG in groups 4, 5 and 6 (P>0.05). 3) SOD activity in serum, liver and muscle of layers in experimental groups was increased to some extent. SOD activity in serum and liver in groups 5 and 6 was the highest, whereas that in yolk in groups 3 and 6 was the highest, and all of the above were significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). 4) MDA content in serum, liver and muscle in experimental groups was decreased to some extent, of which in serum in groups 4 and 6 and in liver in groups 5 and 6 was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). In yolk, MDA content in experimental groups was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05); there was a significant difference between groups 1, 2 and 3 and groups 4, 5 and 6 (P<0.05); MDA content in group 3 was lower than that in groups 1 and 2 (P<0.05); there were no significant differences among groups 4, 5 and 6 (P>0.05). 5) The number of E. coli was decreased, while that of Lactobacillus was increased in experimental groups. The number of E. coli in ileum in group 6 and in caecun in groups 5 and 6 was the lowest, and that of Lactobacillus in cerum in groups 4, 5 and 6 was the highest, and all of the above were better than that in the control groups (P<0.05), but there were no significant differences among groups 4, 5 and 6 (P>0.05). In conclusion, lipid metabolism, antioxidant capacity and and intestinal flora of layers are improved by adding alfalfa meal and cellulase in the diet, and 7% alfalfa meal+0.2% cellulase is recommended.