The influence of operational conditions of a spray dryer on powder properties and equipment performance during spray drying of chicken meat hydrolysate was evaluated by a central composite rotatable design. The independent variables were inlet air temperature (120 to 200°C) and feed flow (0.1 to 0.38 kg/h). Spray dryer performance was assessed through estimation of product recovery, outlet air temperature, thermal efficiency, and energy on the dryer, obtained by mass and heat balance in the dryer system. Powder property was characterized in respect to antioxidant activity. The stable free radical diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used to estimate the antioxidant activity of protein hydrolysate powder. This response varied from 38.7 to 59.4% and was only affected by inlet air temperature. Moreover, the results demonstrate a significant effect of the processing conditions on dryer performance. The increase of feed flow results in higher thermal efficiency and lower energy on dryer. Higher product recovery values were obtained at lower inlet air temperature and feed flow.