The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of wooden breast myopathy on water-holding, rheological, and gelling properties of chicken broiler breast batter. As to water-holding capacity, wooden breast myopathy significantly increased cooking loss and thawing loss of meat batter compared with that of a normal sample (
P
< 0.05). With regard to rheological properties, the viscosity, storage modulus, and loss modulus of meat batter gradually reduced as wooden breast myopathy worsened. Similarly, lightness, hardness, gumminess, and chewiness of heat-induced meat gels reduced with wooden breast myopathy worsening. Severe wooden breast myopathy significantly reduced lightness, hardness, gumminess, and chewiness of heat-induced meat gels (
P
< 0.05). Water distribution of heat-induced meat gels showed that the relaxation times of T
2b1
, T
2b2
, and T
21
generally increased, whereas T
22
gradually decreased when wooden breast myopathy worsened. The corresponding proportions (P
2b1
, P
2b2
, and P
21
) of T
2
populations (T
2b
and T
21
) generally decreased, and the P
22
gradually increased. Severe wooden breast myopathy significantly reduced the relaxation time of T
22
and increased proportion (P
22
) of T
22
peak (
P
< 0.05), but no significant difference was found in immobilized water of heat-induced meat gels. The light microscopy revealed the looser structure of gels with many big bubbles in wooden breast groups when compared with that of normal breast heat-induced gels. It is concluded that the incidence of wooden breast myopathy worsens water-holding capacity and rheological and gelling properties of breast batter of chicken broiler, reducing the further processing property.