Abstract: OBJECTIVES To prepare lomefloxacin degradable starch microspheres (LFLX-DSMs) and to investigate the drug release behavior in vitro. METHODS Lomefloxacin is used as the model drug. LFLX-DSMs were prepared by incubation absorption and entrapping respectively, the performance of which was evaluated by drug-loading, encapsulation efficiency and the drug releasing of LFLX-DSMs in vitro. RESULTS The drug-loading is (14.54±0.87)μg·mg^-1 and encapsulation efficiency is (39.72±0.65)% by incubation absorption, while the drug-loading is (19.32±0.68)μg·mg^-1 and encapsulation efficiency is (48.95±0.73)% by entrapping. The results indicate that LFLX-DSMs had a slow release of LFLX in vitro, and the releasing effect of entrapping is better than that of incubation absorption. The drug release curve of DSMs in the different media were not the same, the drug released less than 70% in artificial gastric juice and more than 80% in artificial intestinal juice. CONCLUSION Both of the methods had a slow release of LFLX in vitro, but the better releasing effect had been achieved by entrapping.