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To determine the influence of red yeast rice on production performance, egg quality and serum traits of laying hens, 288 laying hens (40-week-old) were randomly assigned into four groups with 6 replications of 12 birds each. Hens were provided with diets containing 0, 0.5, 1 and 5 g/kg red yeast rice for 8- weeks. Results showed that dietary supplementation of red yeast rice had no effect (P>0.05) on laying performance over the entire feeding period. Albumen height (quadratic, cubic, P<0.05) and Haugh units (quadratic, P<0.05) were increased with gradient addition of red yeast rice. Moreover, albumen height and Haugh units were higher (P<0.05) in 1 and 5 g/kg red yeast rice groups, with an exception of albumen height in 1 g/kg group at day 28. Yolk cholesterol content was lower (P<0.05) in 5 g/kg red yeast rice-supplemented group at day 56. There were decreased (P<0.05) contents of serum cholesterol and triglyceride, but higher (P<0.05) concentration of serum calcium in the 1 and 5 g/kg red yeast rice-treated hens compared with the control group. Serum level of very-low-density lipoprotein was also reduced (P<0.05) in 5 g/kg red yeast rice-treated hens. The results suggest that red yeast rice could lower serum and egg yolk cholesterol levels and improve the egg quality in laying hens.