Abstract: With high moisture content and large cutting surface, fresh- cut fruits and vegetables are easy to cause infection of microbial pathogens.Microbial pathogen is one of the most important factors which effects on the safety of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.The detection of microbial pathogens can ensure the safety of fresh- cut fruits and vegetables before consuming. In this paper, growth characteristics and influence factors of microbial pathogens on fresh - cut fruits and vegetables were reviewed, including Escherichia coli O157 ∶ H7, salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, shigella. In addition, research progress of rapid detection were introduced, such as Polynerase Chain Reaction, Enzyme- Linked Immunosorbnent Assay, ATP bioluminescence assay, fluorescence in situ hybridization, automatic microbial detection system as well as in the application on fresh - cut fruits and vegetables industry.