Objective： The aim of the study was to screen lactic acid bacteria（LAB） with high cholesterol-lowering ability and great probiotic properties， from fermented food and infant feces. Methods： 102 LAB strains were collected from 20 infant feces， 8 traditional fermented pickles and 4 Jinhua ham samples. The cholesterol-lowering ability of strain ZY08 and I631， tested by gas chromatography method， was significantly higher than that of standard strain （ATCC 43121） （P<0.05）， and were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. The acid tolerance， bile salt tolerance， antibiotic sensitivity and antimicrobial activity of the two strains were evaluated. Results： Two probiotic strains with high cholesterol-lowering ability were screened： Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 and Lactobacillus fermentans I631， and the cholesterol reduction rates were 67.45% and 63.19%， respectively. After incubation at pH 1.5 and 3.0 for 6 h， the viable bacteria numbers of strains ZY08 and I631 were greater than 6 lg （CFU/mL）； the two strains had a certain tolerance to 3， 5 and 10 g/L bile salt and the tolerance to bile salt was over 80% （3 g/L bile salt）； they were sensitive to the 8 kinds of antibiotics （penicillin， ampicillin， cefazolin， amikacin， gentamicin， erythromycin， sulfamethoxazole， chloramphenicol）， and had no potential threat to human health. The fermentation supernatant of these two strains had a certain inhibitory effect on four intestinal pathogenic bacteria （Staphylococcus aureus， Listeria monocytogenes， Escherichia coli O157∶H7， Salmonella typhimurium）. Conclusion： Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 and Lactobacillus fermentans I631 with probiotic potential were obtained in this experiment， which could provide a source of strains for development and research of functional dairy products.