A modified high-pressure optical zone-melting technique was adopted to grow a rare-earth-based LaFe11Si2 crystal in the present work. Dual-phase coupled microstructure was obtained where aligned α(Fe) phase distributed in the La(Fe,Si)13 matrix. Magnetic measurements showed that the produced crystal underwent a second-order magnetic transition in the vicinity of 250K. Under a magnetic field change of 30kOe, the refrigeration capacity (RC) of the produced crystal reached up to 162J/kg. It was confirmed that zone-melting crystal growth technique is an effective approach to strikingly enhance the magnetocaloric effect of La–Fe–Si refrigeration materials.