Abstract:In this paper，chitosan，zein，and clove essential oil were used as raw materials to prepare chitosanbased edible composite film solution by self-assembly method，and the encapsulation rate of the film-coating solution on clove essential oil was used as an index to optimize the preparation process and evaluate its comprehensive performance by using single-factor and orthogonal tests.The results showed that the optimal process parameters were chitosan concentration of 3 mg/mL，zein concentration of 6 mg/mL，clove essential oil concentration of 3 mg/mL，crosslinking time of 30 min，and pH4.5 of the solution system.Under these optimal conditions，the embedding rate of clove essential oil was up to（48.91±0.49）%，which significantly improved the stability of the active ingredients.The antibacterial effect of the prepared composite film solution on both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was better than that of single chitosan and chitosan-zein protein treatment groups.The results of mechanical properties showed that the tensile strength of the composite film was（12.07±2.73）MPa；the elongation at break was（5.29±0.22）%，and the film was uniformly thick，straw yellow，and translucent.The natural composite film prepared by the optimal process had good mechanical properties and the best bacteriostatic properties.