Abstract:Epsilon-polylysine （ε-PL）is a natural，highly safe，cationic polypeptide that exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity，good water solubility，excellent thermal stability，and other advantages.Several countries，including China，Japan，and Korea，have approved it as a safe food preservative.Recently，an increasing number of studies found that ε-PL can substantially inhibit various common pathogens in fruits and vegetables，ε-PL has been used widely in antisepsis and preservation research on fruits and vegetables.In particular，the combined applications of ε-PL with other antimicrobial agents，preservative agents，or agents used for physical fresh-keeping effectively and synergistically enhanced the fresh-keeping effects.Based on recent local and international studies，this article reviewed the inhibitory effects of ε-PL on the common pathogens in fruits and vegetables and the current application status of ε-PL alone or combined with other treatments in postharvest preservation.Additionally，potential future applications were discussed to provide a basis for further research of ε-PL in the postharvest preservation of fruits and vegetables.