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Background: Diets with increasing levels of energy were fed for 42 days to 200, 1-day old male broiler chickens to evaluate growth performance, carcass characteristics and chemical composition of meat. The study was performed in the subtropical area of northeastern Mexico. Treatments diets (T) for starter and finisher phases had apparent metabolizable energy (AME; kcal/kg) of: 2960 and 3040 (T1); 3000 and 3080 (T2); 3040 and 3120 (T3); 3080 and 3160 (T4), respectively. Within each of the growing phases the four treatment diets were formulated to contain similar levels of crude protein, amino acids, and other nutrients. In a completely randomized design, birds were allocated to the four treatments with five replicates (floor pens) of 10 birds each. The trial was divided in two phases (starter and finisher) of 21 days each (42 days total). Results: Weight gain was not influenced by energy level; however, feed conversion efficiency was improved in the diets with 3040 and 3120 kcal/kg AME (T3; P < 0.05). There was no influence of treatment on total carcass weight or carcass cuts (P > 0.05). Meat from breast muscle had similar crude protein percentages among treatments; ether extract was higher in T1 than T4 (P < 0.05). The percentages of water, ether extract, ash and crude protein in thigh meat were not significantly different (P > 0.05) among treatments. Conclusions: For this study carried out in a dry tropical area, the moderate increase in dietary energy concentration (diet with 3040 and 3120 kcal/kg AME, T3) enhanced feed conversion efficiency of broiler chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]