One method of reducing feed cost is to restrict the feed in the early life of broilers. In this regard, Fontana et al. (1992) reported that early feed restriction programs in their experiments proportionally reduced the consumption of the starter diets by an average of 22% in restricted broilers when compared with controls. Energy restriction has also been shown to result in a reduction in metabolic energy loss leading to a reduced requirement for maintenance. If during refeeding, this low requirement is maintained and if growth resumed at a normal or above normal rate (compensatory growth), feed efficiency would be substantially improved, leading to an economical advantage. This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of severity of diet dilution (energy and protein) and duration of early feed restriction on feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of male broiler chickens.