Abstract: To screen good strains for pickle starter， several strains of Lactobacillus pentosus were isolated and identified from the traditional fermented pickles. Their growth characteristics in the medium of vegetable juice were studied and the excellent L. pentosus strain was used to ferment pickles. Eleven Lactobacillus strains were isolated from traditional fermented food， 5 strains were identified as L. pentosus. Among them， 2 strains showed better growth in vegetable juice medium. L. pentosus strains Mao62 and Tang32 were then inoculated into the ferment pickles. After 2 days incubation， pickles by the test strains demonstrated better characteristics than that fermented by natural process based on the production level of the lactic acid and sensory evaluation.

Key words: Lactobacillus pentosus, fermentation, pickle