Abstract: Ready-to-eat meat (RTE) products are potential to contaminate bacteria, yeasts and molds during the processing, transport, storage, and sale periods, causing food spoilage and foodborne diseases. As a new non-thermal sterilization technology, atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is effective and green and has shown great potential in food sterilization and preservation. This paper summarizes the inactivation effects of ACP on microorganisms as well as the factors influencing the antimicrobial efficacy of ACP. The recent progress in the applications of ACP in the sterilization and preservation of RTE meat products is also reviewed in this article. Meanwhile, the effects of ACP treatments on the lipids, proteins, color parameter and sensory quality parameters of RTE meat products are also well discussed. This paper provides references for the potential application of ACP technology in the sterilization and preservation of RTE meat products.