A promising application of Lactococcus lactis is its use as live vehicles for production and delivery of heterologous proteins of vaccines and therapeutic substances. Because L. lactis has GRAS ("generally regarded as safe") status, use tested whether L. lactis could function as the carrier of the L1 protein of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16. The RNA level expression of L1 gene was detected in L. Laois. The L1 protein was expressed in L. luctis with LI gene. The growth of strains L. lactis with an empty plasmid (pAMJ328) and L. lactis with L1-encoding plasmid (pAMJ328-L1) was slightly decreased in comparison with the growth of strains L. lactis (wild type). However, all the three strains of L lactis maintained the ability to ferment sugars primarily into lactic acid, indicating that L1 protein did not affect the biochemical property of L.. lactis. These results suggest that L. lactis. capable of carrying LI protein, might he further developed as a biocompatible oral protein delivery system.