Abstract: Pulsed light is a new efficient environment-friendly non-thermal sterilization technology and it has a great development potential in food industry. This article reviews the sterilization mechanism of pulsed light and its applications in fruits and vegetables, meat products, dairy products, food packaging materials and other fields, the coupling effects of pulsed light and other preservation technologies, practical applications of pulsed light in food industry as well as the safety of using pulsed light. Pulsed light can not only widely destroy a variety of pathogenic bacteria, but also basically do not change the properties of foods and food packaging materials. It has huge application potential in improving food safety and extending food shelf life. The coupling of pulsed light and other fresh-keeping technology also has better effects in terms of sterilization effect, sensory quality, and nutrient content retention than single fresh-keeping technology. This review hopes to provide a theoretical reference for researchers to further understand the pulsed light sterilization technology and expand its application fields.