Due to traditional feedstuffs for swine being diverted to biofuels, feed costs for pork production have increased dramatically. Consequently, pork producers are seeking ways to increase the efficiency of feed utilization. In addition, producers are looking for alternatives to dietary antibiotics. Sodium butyrate has been shown to reduce gastrointestinal inflammation and, subsequently, may increase pig growth and feed efficiency. Weanling pigs were fed graded levels of sodium butyrate or a dietary antibiotic, and growth performance and feed intake were monitored over a 28 day period. A second experiment was conducted to determine the response of pigs fed sodium butyrate to an inflammatory challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The cytokine response to LPS was measured in blood and various tissues. Data obtained in this research indicate that sodium butyrate did not increase growth efficiency in weanling pigs, but did regulate the physiological response to inflammation. The research results described in this report provides pork producers, researchers at universities, feed companies, and allied industries, data showing that feeding sodium butyrate to weanling pigs does not increase growth performance, but may alter the inflammatory response.