Toll-like receptors (TLR) promote cytokine release from intestinal epithelia, thereby driving inflammation. Although ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has anti-inflammatory effects in the liver, its potential for treating intestinal inflammation has not been well-studied. Here, we investigated UDCA effects on TLR-driven colonic epithelial cytokine release and induction of inflammation in a mouse model of colitis. T84 colonic epithelial cells were treated with specific TLR agonists (TLR3: Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, 25 μg/ml; TLR4: lipopolysaccharide, 100 ng/ml), in the presence or absence of UDCA. Released cytokines were measured by ELISA. Signalling proteins in the TLR pathway were overexpressed in HEK293T cells and luciferase assays performed. Dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) colitis was induced in male C57BL/6 mice by giving mice DSS (2.5%) in their drinking water along with daily intraperitoneal injections of UDCA (30 or 100 mg/kg) or vehicle for 5 days. Colitis severity was recorded as disease activity index (DAI), which is a combination of scores from 0 – 4 assigned to each of body weight loss, stool consistency and presence of faecal blood. In T84 cells, UDCA (200 μM) attenuated TLR3-stimulated tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) release from 32.9 ± 4.1 to 23.8 ± 3.7 pg/ml; interleukin-8 (IL-8) release from 1197.5 ± 110.1 to 923.8 ± 110.3 pg/ml and IL-1β release from 2.0 ± 0.2 to 1.6 ± 0.2 pg/ml (n=4, p<0.05). Overexpression analysis of proteins in the TLR signalling pathway revealed that UDCA (200 μM) exerts its inhibitory effect at the TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β (TRIF)/ TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) junction (n=5, p<0.01). In the DSS model of colitis, UDCA (30 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) significantly reduced the severity of disease in DSS-treated mice from a DAI of 10.0 ± 0.3 in DSS alone to 7.2 ± 0.7 and 5.8 ± 0.5, respectively (n=6-12, p<0.001). Colons were significantly longer in mice that received DSS + UDCA (30 mg/kg) 69.0 ± 1.5 mm, compared to DSS alone 60.8 ±2.1 mm (n=6-12, p<0.05). Furthermore, inflammation scoring was also significantly reduced in UDCA (100 mg/kg)-treated animals with a score of 24.3 ± 4.4, compared to DSS alone with a score of 37.3 ± 0.8 (n=4-6, p<0.05). In conclusion, our data suggest that, by virtue of its effects in preventing TLR-induced proinflammatory cytokine release and its ability to ameliorate disease in a mouse model, UDCA may be useful for treating intestinal inflammation.