In this study， natural linalool was selected as a preservative to inhibit the increase of formaldehyde content and quality deterioration of Dosidicus gigas caused by Psychrobacter maritimus L4. The results showed that the content of formaldehyde， dimethylamine and trimethylamine in the samples added with linalool was significantly （P<0.05） lower than that in the samples inoculated with P. maritimus L4 in the same period， and the reduction was between 1.3-12.2 times. The above three indexes of the linalool group were not significantly different from those of the blank group （P>0.05）. The trimethylamine oxide content was 1.1-15.9 times higher than that of the L4 group in the same period. The quality indexes showed the same results. The sensory quality deterioration， total plate count， thiobarbituric acid value， and pH value of linalool treatment group and blank group were significantly lower than those of L4 group （P<0.05）. P. maritimus L4 can promote the production of formaldehyde in squid and its quality deterioration， while linalool can inhibit the increase of formaldehyde content in squid caused by strain L4 and improve the storage quality and edible safety of squid.