Effects of controlled- and uncontrolled-pH operations on phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) production by a recombinant Escherichia coli strain were investigated at uncontrolled-pH ($pH_{UC}$) and controlled-pH ($pH_C$) of 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, and 8.5 in bioreactor systems. The results showed that the recombinant PAL activity was improved significantly by controlled pH strategy. Among the $pH_C$ operations, the highest PAL activities were obtained under $pH_C$ 7.5 strategy where cell mass ($OD_{600;nm}$) and PAL activity was 1.3 and 1.8 fold higher than those of $pH_{UC}$, respectively. The maximum PAL activity reached 123 U/g. The $pH_C$ 7.5 strategy made recombinant plasmid more stable and therefore allowed easier expression of PAL recombinant plasmid, which increased PAL production. It was indicated that the new approach (controlled-pH strategy) obtained in this work possessed a high potential for the industrial production of PAL, especially in the biosynthesis of L-phenylalanine.