The ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research (DPR) formerly Project Directorate on Poultry (PDP) is one of the constituent research institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), an autonomous organization under the Department of Agriculture Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. The Directorate was set up as a coordinating unit of All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Poultry in 1970 at Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Subsequently, the unit was elevated as a full-fledged Project Directorate during 1988 and shifted to Hyderabad, the capital city of the southern state of Telangana. The objectives of the Directorate are to coordinate research at AICRP centers located across the country and conduct research on the development and improvement of chicken lines for commercial and rural poultry production. Realizing the slow development of poultry production in Eastern and North-Eastern parts of India, a Regional Centre was established at Bhubaneswar on 26 July 1992 (earlier under ICAR-CARI, shifted under DPR from 23 July 2020) to undertake research on various aspects of poultry, particularly duck production, which are of direct relevance to Eastern and North-Eastern region of the country.

The ongoing research programmes at DPR are focused on research relevant to societal needs, and application-oriented research towards commercialization. These include the areas of poultry and duck breeding, molecular genetics, applied nutrition, immunomodulation, disease diagnosis and health management etc. DPR has taken lead in the promotion of rural poultry farming through propagation of chicken varieties, Vanaraja, Gramapriya and Srinidhi. DPR scientists received many prestigious awards including the ICAR team research award for outstanding achievements. Directorate received Sardar Patel Best Institute Award 2013 from Honourable PM of India. Directorate is ISO 9001-2015  certified institution.