Abstract: Apples can be mechanically injured during fresh-cutting process, which can cause browning and seriously affect the sensory quality, flavor, and commercial value. In this study, the fresh-cut ‘Red Fuji’ apples were soaked under different concentrations of exogenous ferulic acid solutions, in order to study the mechanism of browning inhibition. The results showed that soaking with 1, 5, 8, and 10 g/L of ferulic acid could inhibit the browning of fresh-cut apples, and soaking with 10 g/L of ferulic acid for 10 min presented the best inhibitory effects. The treatment with10 g/L ferulic acid significantly increased the superoxide dismutase（SOD） activity and the clearance rates of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl（DPPH） free radical and 2,2’-azino-bis（3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid）（ABTS）cation radicals in fresh-cut apples. It also inhibited the polyphenol oxidase（PPO） activity at the later stage of storage,reduced the single phenol contents such as epicatechin, and increased the coumaric acid content. Epicatechin addition with 5 mg/mL could promote apple juice browning, while coumaric acid addition with 5, 10, 20, 40 mg/mL could all demonstrated inhibitory effects. In summary, exogenous ferulic acid treatments could alleviate the browning of fresh-cut apples via increasing SOD activity, antioxidant capacities, the contents of endogenous browning inhibitors,and reducing the contents of browning substrates.