Hfq is an RNA-binding protein that acts to modulate the action of small regulatory RNA (sRNA) molecules. Hfq normally acts as an RNA chaperone that facilitates the interaction of sRNAs with their target mRNAs, altering either the rate of mRNA translation or the stability of the mRNA. In this way Hfq and sRNAs act together to regulate gene expression. To determine whether sRNAs play an important role in gene regulation in Pasteurella multocida, we constructed an hfq mutant in the highly virulent P. multocida strain VP161. The mutant displayed normal growth in liquid heart infusion broth, but displayed reduced colony size and a less mucoid appearance on solid heart infusion medium. Hyaluronic acid assays showed that the production of capsule was significantly reduced in the mutant; complementation with an intact hfq gene restored capsule production. The hfq mutant showed reduced in vivo survival in mice and reduced virulence in chickens when inoculated via the intratracheal route. We compared the transcriptomes of the wild-type and hfq mutant strains by RNA-seq and the proteomes using high-throughput, quantitative, liquid proteomics. The capsule biosynthesis genes/proteins were significantly down-regulated in the hfq mutant as measured by both the RNA-seq and the proteomics, consistent with the reduced capsule production measured by the hyaluronic acid assays. A range of other genes/proteins was also identified as differentially expressed in the hfq mutant, including the known virulence factor PfhB2 (filamentous haemagglutinin) and its transporter LspB, the sigma factor genes rpoE and rpoH, the peptide transporters OppA and DppA and a range of amino acid biosynthesis and iron homeostasis proteins. Taken together, these data show that the action of Hfq is critical for full P. multocida virulence and capsule production. Furthermore, they strongly suggest that sRNAs are important regulators of virulence genes in P. multocida.