Microbial-derived food preservatives have attracted attention for their natural， green， and safe properties， and become an important development direction to replace chemical preservatives. In this paper， the classification， producing genera， antibacterial compounds， antibacterial mechanisms， and application of microbial-derived food preservatives were systematically reviewed. The basic characteristics and antimicrobial metabolites of the producing genera were demonstrated， highlighting the key microbial species utilized in the production of preservatives. The antibacterial mechanisms of key antimicrobial compounds， such as organic acids and peptides， were elaborated. Furthermore， the characteristics and research status of major application approaches， including individual application， combined application， composite coating application， and nano material composite application， were summarized. Based on the current advantages， existing challenges， and future directions of microbial-derived food preservatives， we hope this review can provide a theoretical reference for the development and application of novel preservatives in this field.