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BACKGROUD Polysaccharides may enhance/inhibit lipid digestibility of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions because of their emulsifying and/or stabilizing ability and could also affect the formation, stability, and viscosity of emulsions. Tamarind seed gum (TSG) was used as the sole emulsifier/stabilizer to stabilize an O/W emulsion prepared using high-speed homogenization. We investigated the effects of different TSG concentrations (50-150 g kg-1 ) on the lipid digestibility, rheological properties, and stability of O/W emulsions during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. RESULTS A low concentration (50 g kg-1 ) and a high concentration (150 g kg-1 ) of TSG reduced lipid digestibility about 33% and 45%, respectively, compared to the control sample (no TSG). However, emulsion containing the intermediate TSG concentration at 100 g kg-1 was the most efficient in the inhibition of lipid digestion, reducing lipid digestibility about 77% that of the control sample. The stability of emulsion tended to enhance as the concentration of TSG increased. The size of oil droplets before passing through the intestinal phase and the viscosity of the intestinal digested system may be important factors to enhance/inhibit lipid digestibility of emulsions. The destabilization of the emulsion during digestion was not clearly detected by rheological analysis because rheological characteristics (e.g. flow behavior index) were mainly driven by TSG. CONCLUSION The addition of TSG in O/W emulsion inhibited lipid digestibility. The TSG concentration at 100 g kg-1 was the most efficient in the inhibition of lipid digestibility, suggesting that TSG is an attractive alternative ingredient to control lipid digestibility of emulsion foods. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.