AbstractTo improve the flavor of microbone meal, Flavourzyme was adopted to hydrolyze the meal and the hydrolysis conditions were optimized with the response surface method. The ANOVA results showed that the degree of hydrolysis (DH) of the microbone meal was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the amount of enzyme and hydrolysis time. In addition, the bitter and umami tastes of the microbone meal were significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by hydrolysis time and amount of enzyme, respectively. The optimization results showed that the optimal hydrolysis conditions were a Flavourzyme amount of 10.36%, hydrolysis temperature of 59.60°C, hydrolysis time of 5.84 hr, and pH of 7.75. The corresponding DH, bitter, and umami taste of the hydrolysate were 4.11%, 0.80 cent, and 1.90 cent, respectively. Characteristic volatile flavor compounds of the hydrolysate indicated that the Flavourzyme hydrolysis increased the meaty flavor of the microbone meal.Practical applicationsThe obvious fishy smell and less meaty taste limited the microbone meal being mainly used in feeds. To broaden the applications of microbone meal in other fields, the Flavourzyme was adopted to improve its flavor. The Flavourzyme hydrolysis conditions were optimized with response surface method. The obtained hydrolysis conditions will benefit not only future investigations of animal bone by‐products applications, but also bone meal related product development. We believe that our findings could be of interest to meat related research units and enterprises by virtue of providing an alternative flavor improvement processing for bone meal application.