Dendrobium officinale (D. officinale) was regarded as the nutritious food in Asia for the remarkable bioactivities on immunmodulatory. Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide (DOP) served as the main active compound in the herb. Extraction of DOP was investigated and immunmodulatory activities were evaluated. The optimal extraction process (liquid-to-material ratio of 24.6:1, extraction time of 2.1 hr, and temperature of 67.4 °C) was obtained by single-factor analysis and response surface optimization. Under this condition, DOP reached the extraction yield of 92.42%. Furthermore, DOP can promote the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes of immunodeficient mice and enhance the phagocytic capability of peritoneal macrophages. The contents of IL-6 and TNF-α in serum and splenocyte supernatants were significantly upregulated. Similarly, the contents of immune globulins (IgM and IgG) and hemolysis in serum was increased, as well as the antioxidant capabilities of thymus and serum. Therefore, this work gave an effective extraction method for DOP, and elucidated the immunmodulatory mechanisms of DOP at the level of the animal. Practical applications Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide (DOP) is active compounds in Dendrobium officinale (D. officinale), which was widely used as nutritious food in Asia for its remarkable bioactivities such as the curative effect on chronic atrophic gastritis and hypertension and diabetes, tumor-suppression, and anti-aging effects. In the current study, it optimized the extraction process to acquire high-quality and stable DOP. Furthermore, it explored the immunoregulatory mechanism of DOP using immunosuppressive mouse model. This work contributed to the further development and utilization of DOP as a novel nutritious food additive component.