The purpose of this work was to develop a solid dispersion system containing cyclosporin A (CsA) in order to improve the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble CsA. Solid dispersion systems that are spherical in shape (CsA-microspheres) were prepared with varying ratios of CsA/sodium lauryl sulfate/dextrin using a spray-drying technique. The effects of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and dextrin on the dissolution of CsA dispersed in SLS-dextrin based solid microspheres were investigated. The bioavailability of CsA-microspheres was compared with CsA powder alone and commercial Sandimmun in dogs. SLS significantly enhanced the dissolution of CsA from microspheres, while dextrin did not affect this. The CsA-microspheres at the CsA/SLS/dextrin ratio of 1/3/1, which gave the highest dissolution rate of CsA among the formula treated, was selected as an optimal formula for oral delivery. This formula gave significantly higher blood levels, area under the drug concentration-time curve (AUC) and maximum blood concentration of drug (Cmax) of CsA in dogs compared with the CsA powder alone. The AUC, Cmax and time to reach maximum blood concentration (Tmax) of CsA with CsA-microspheres was not significantly different from those after oral administration of Sandimmun, suggesting the similar bioavailability to Sandimmun in dogs. Our study demonstrates that the CsA-microspheres prepared with SLS and dextrin, with improved bioavailability of CsA, would be useful to deliver a poorly water-soluble CsA and could be applicable to other poorly water-soluble drugs.