The major capsid protein (MCP) is the main immunogenic protein of iridoviruses, that has been widely used as an immunogen in vaccination trials. In this study, the codon-optimized giant salamander iridovirus (GSIV) MCP gene (O-MCP) was synthesized and cloned into a pPICZα B vector for secretory expression in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris after methanol induction. The expression of the O-MCP protein was detected by the Bradford protein assay, SDS-PAGE, Western blotting and electron microscopy. The Bradford protein assay indicated that the concentration of the O-MCP expressed was about 40μg/ml in culture supernatants. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the O-MCP had a molecular weight of about 66kDa and reacted with a His-specific MAb that was confirmed by Western blotting. Electron microscopy observations revealed that the purified O-MCP could self-assemble into virus-like particles. Healthy giant salamanders were vaccinated by intramuscular injection with the O-MCP antigen at a dose of 20μg/individual. The numbers of erythrocytes and leukocytes in the peripheral blood of immunized Chinese giant salamanders increased significantly at day 3 and reached a peak at day 5 post-immunization. Meanwhile, the differential leukocyte counts of monocytes and neutrophils increased significantly at day 5 post-immunization compared to that of the control group. The percentage of lymphocytes was 71.33±3.57% at day 21 post-immunization. The neutralization assay showed that the serum neutralizing antibody titer reached 321 at day 21 post-immunization. The GSIV challenge test revealed that the relative percent survival of Chinese giant salamanders vaccinated with O-MCP was 78%. These results indicated that the O-MCP antigen expressed by the Pichia pastoris system elicited significant immune response in the Chinese giant salamander against GSIV and might represent a potential yeast-derived vaccine candidate that could be used for the control of disease caused by the giant salamander iridovirus.