Overuse of antibiotics has aggravated bacterial drug resistance， creating an urgent demand for novel antibacterial agents. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)， cationic small peptides synthesized by organisms， serve as innate immune effector molecules with broad-spectrum inhibitory activities against bacteria， fungi， viruses and tumor cells. Distinct from conventional antibiotics， their multi-target mechanisms significantly reduce the risk of drug-resistant strain emergence and exhibit favorable biocompatibility， showing promise for extensive applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. This review systematically summarized the principal bioactivities， source classification and action mechanisms of AMPs， and highlighted their research progress in the food industry， including raw material quality control， food preservation and antimicrobial packaging materials. Challenges including poor stability under complex food conditions， obstacled in large-scale production and incomplete safety evaluation systems were discussed， and prospective development strategies were proposed to provide theoretical references for further exploitation and application of AMPs.