--- - |2- Abstract Accumulating data show that the cytotoxicity of bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from microbiota or infection is associated with many disorders observed in the clinics. However, it is still obscure whether or not embryonic osteogenesis is affected by the LPS exposure during gestation. Using the early chicken embryo model, we could demonstrate that LPS exposure inhibits chondrogenesis of the 8‐day chicken embryos by Alcian Blue‐staining and osteogenesis of 17‐day by Alcian Blue and Alizarin Red staining. Further analysis of the growth plates showed that the length of the proliferating zone (PZ) increases whereas that of the hypertrophic zone (HZ) decreased following LPS exposure. However there is no significant change on cell proliferation in the growth plates. Immunofluorescent staining, western blot analysis, and quantitive polymerase chain reaction revealed that Sox9 and Col2a1 are highly expressed at the messenger RNA level and their protein products are also abundant. LPS exposure causes a downregulation of Runx2 and Col10a1 expression in 8‐day hindlimbs, and a suppression of Runx2, Col10a1, and Vegfa expression in 17‐day phalanges. Knocking down Sox9 in ATDC5 cells by small interfering RNA transfection lead to the expression reduction of Col2a1, Runx2, and Col10a1, implying the vital role of Sox9 in the process of LPS‐induced delay in the transition from proliferating chondrocytes to hypertrophic chondrocytes in the growth plate. In the presence of LPS, the antioxidant defense regulator nuclear factor (erythroid‐derived 2)‐like 2 (Nrf2) is highly expressed, and the activities of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), SOD2, and glutaredoxin rise in 17‐day phalanges and ADTC5 cells. Simultaneously, an increase of intracellular ROS is observed. When Nrf2 expression was knocked down in ATDC5 cells, the expressions of Sox9, Col2a1, Runx2, Col10a1, and Vegfa were also going down as well. Taken together, our current data suggest that LPS exposure during gestation could restrict the chondrocytes conversion from proliferating to hypertrophic in the growth plate, in which LPS‐induced Sox9 plays a crucial role to trigger the cascade of downstream genes by excessive ROS production and Nrf2 elevation. - Journal of Cellular Physiology, EarlyView.