<jats:p>This study was done to evaluate the effects of heat stress (HS) on production performance, redox status, small intestinal barrier-related parameters, cecal microbiota, and metabolome of indigenous broilers. A total of forty female indigenous broilers (56-day-old) were randomly and equally divided into normal treatment group (NT group, 21.3 ± 1.2°C, 24 h/day) and HS group (32.5 ± 1.4°C, 8 h/day) with five replicates of each for 4 weeks feeding trial. The results showed that the body weight gain (BWG) of broilers in HS group was lower than those in NT group during 3–4 weeks and 1–4 weeks (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05). The HS exposure increased the abdominal fat rate (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05) but decreased the thigh muscle rate (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.01). Besides, broilers in HS group had higher drip loss of breast muscle than NT group (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.01). Broilers exposed to HS had lower total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in serum and jejunum, activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in the jejunum, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the thigh muscle, duodenum, and jejunum; and catalase (CAT) in breast muscle, duodenum, and jejunum (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05). Whereas the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in breast muscle, duodenum, and jejunum was elevated by HS exposure (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the relative mRNA expression of <jats:italic>Occludin</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>ZO-1</jats:italic> in the duodenum, <jats:italic>Occludin, Claudin-1, Claudin-4, ZO-1, Mucin-2</jats:italic> in the jejunum, and the <jats:italic>Claudin-4</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Mucin-2</jats:italic> in the ileum was down-regulated by HS exposure (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05). The 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that the HS group increased the relative abundance of <jats:italic>Anaerovorax</jats:italic> in the cecum at the genus level (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05). Cecal metabolomics analysis indicated 19 differential metabolites between the two groups (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.10, VIP &gt;1). The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that the differential metabolites mainly enriched in 10 signaling pathways such as the Citrate cycle (TCA cycle) (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.01). In summary, chronic HS exposure caused a decline of production performance, reduced antioxidant capacity, disrupted intestinal barrier function, and negatively affected cecal microbiota and metabolome in indigenous broilers.</jats:p>