Abstract: Plant essential oils（EOs） are the mixture of natural, volatile, and aromatic compounds obtained from plants. Considering the potential risks of chemical synthetic food preservatives to human health, it is a general trend to investigate and develop natural ones with high safety. Previous studies have shown that plant EOs possess a promising prospect in developing bacteriostat for preservation of agricultural products. Moreover, the sources of plant EOs are extensive and rich. Several factors, including the species, part of the plant, season of harvesting, geographical origin, and also the extraction method, influence the chemical composition of plant EOs,and consequently their antimicrobial property. In this paper, recent studies concerning antimicrobial mechanism,preservation effects on agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, and grain, and synergistic antimicrobial effects of different plant EOs were reviewed. This work was aimed to provide reference for further research, development, and exploiting on plant EOs in the future.