Abstract:As a natural antibacterial agent， plant essential oil has the characteristics of broad-spectrum antibacterial， biodegradable and safe non-toxic， which is widely used in fruits and vegetables preservation. Due to the excellent antibacterial， barrier and preservation properties of composite films incorporating plant essential oil， it avoids the limitation of single plant essential oil in fruits and vegetables preservation and becomes an important packaging material for fruits and vegetables. In this paper， the antimicrobial mechanism of plant essential oil and application in fruits and vegetables preservation are summarized. The research progress of plant essential oil-protein composite films， plant essential oil-lipid composite films and plant essential oil-polysaccharide composite films in the fruits and vegetables preservation are reviewed. Moreover， the problems of the composite films containing plant essential oil， and future studies about the application in the fruits and vegetables preservation are discussed. Key words： plant essential oil； composite films； antibacterial activity； fruits and vegetables； preservation