The coding sequence for the mature peptide of porcine lactoferrin (Plf) was synthesized according to the codon usage of lactobacillus, to establish optimized porcine lactoferrin Lactobacillus expression system. The gene was ligated into the Xho I/BamH I site of Lactobacillus expression vector pPG612.1 and the recombinant plasmid pPG612.1-plf was transformed individually into Lactobacillus casei ATCC393, Lactobacillus pentosus KLDS1.0413, Lactobacillus plantarum KLDS1.0344 or Lactobacillus paracasei KLDS1.0652 by electroporation. After induction with xylose, expression of the recombinant proteins was detected by Western blotting and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Secretion of recombinant Plf proteins from four recombinant species was determined quantitatively by ELISA. The antibacterial activities of recombinant proteins were measured by agar diffusion method. The result shows that Plf was correctly expressed in four species of recombinant lactobacillus, with molecular weight of about 73 kDa. The expression levels in recombinant Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus pentosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei were 9.6 μg/mL, 10.8 μg/mL, 12.5 μg/mL and 9.9 μg/mL, respectively. Antimicrobial activity experiment shows that the recombinant proteins were active against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria, Pasteurella. The recombinant Plf expressed by recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum showed the best antibacterial activity among all recombinant lactobacillus species. These data represent a basis for the development and application of porcine lactoferrin from recombinant lactobacillus.