About 133.5 nm Radix salvia miltiorrhiza nanoparticles were prepared by high speed centrifugal sheering pulverizer and the nanoparticles were characterized by TEM in this study. Microcapsules containing R. salvia miltiorrhiza nanoparticles were produced by spray-drying technique using different proportions of gelatin and sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-Na) as wall materials. The effects of inlet temperature, flow rate, spray-gas flow and the ratio of M-core/M-wall on encapsulation yield (EY) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) were investigated. The EE was determined by reverse high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); the resulting microcapsules were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, and X-ray diffraction analysis. In addition, in vitro release characters of R. salvia miltiorrhiza raw powder, spray-dried powder and microcapsules were also studied. The results showed that spray-dried microcapsules had a regular spherical shape but the majority presented rough surfaces or invaginations with a diameter of 2-5 mu m. R. salvia miltiorrhiza nanoparticles were embedded in the wall system consisting of gelatin and CMC-Na. Higher EE and EY were obtained under the inlet temperature of 80 degrees C and the ratio of M-core/M-wall of 1/4. In vitro release study showed that R. salvia miltiorrhiza microcapsules could regulate drug release. This study may be helpful to the pharmaceutical application of R. salvia miltiorrhiza. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.