With the development of the times and the improvement of people's living standards, edible aquatic products are more and more welcomed by people. Therefore, under the background that aquatic products are highly perishable and consumers pay more and more attention to food safety, the development of natural preservatives has always been one of the hot spots in the field of aquatic products storage and processing. Based on its extensive antibacterial effect and excellent antioxidant activity, plant extracts have become a promising substitute for synthetic preservatives. On the basis of discussing the spoilage mechanism of aquatic products and the antibacterial mechanism of plant-derived active ingredients, this paper summarizes the application of plant extracts in aquatic products preservation, briefly analyzes the current limitations and solutions, and looks forward to the development trend of plant extracts in aquatic products preservation in the future to provide theoretical reference for expanding the application of plant extracts in aquatic products.