Abstract: Some microbial exopolysaccharides have efficient antioxidant capacity. In order to investigate the antioxidant activity of exopolysaccharides extracted from Rufibacter hautae NBS58-1 and study its function in strawberry preservation, the exopolysaccharide (EPS-1) from strain NBS58-1 was prepared by ethanol precipitation. The composition and molecular weight of the EPS-1 were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), the antioxidant activity of EPS-1 was explored by free radical scavenging experiments, and its application in strawberry preservation was explored. The results showed that the EPS-1 was composed of glucose, mannose, ribose, galactose, arabinose, xylose, galacturonic acid, rhamnose, fucose and glucuronic acid with a ratio of 80.33:11:2.84:2.74:1.79:0.61:0.26:0.17:0.15:0.1, and the molecular weight was 4 652. The results of free radical scavenging experiments showed that the antioxidant activity of EPS-1 was positively correlated with its mass concentration in the concentration range of 0-5 mg/mL. At the concentration of 5 mg/mL, the scavenging rates of ABTS, DPPH, and hydroxyl radical were (81.48±2.09)%, (41.47±0.37)%, and (91.59±0.73)%, respectively. The absorption value of total reducing power at 700 nm was 0.29. When EPS-1 was used as a coating solution for strawberries, the mass loss rate of strawberries was (55.58±0.89)% after 7 d, which was smaller than that of the control group. The content of SSC was (7.03±0.12)%, which was significantly higher than that in the control group. The MDA content was 4.07 μ mol/L, which was significantly lower than that of the control group. The content of Vc was (23.63±0.67) μ g/g, which was significantly higher than that of the control group. These results showed that EPS-1 could reduce the weight loss and malonaldehyde content of strawberry, delay the degradation of soluble solids and Vc oxidation. Therefore, EPS-1 from R. hautae NBS58-1 is a heteropolysaccharide with free radical scavenging activity and can prolong the shelf life of strawberry.