Plasma active water (PAW) has owned a good bacteriostatic per- formance, which can effectively clean the harmful microorganisms from the surface of fruits and vegetables, and has a wide application in the field of food cold sterilization. Gliding arc discharge was adopted in this study to form PAW liquids, with Escherichia coli (E. coli) as treatment object, and the sterilization process and the characteristics of PAW was optimized and measured through the determination of hydroxyl free radicals, pH, ORP, conductivity, showing that PAW was a green and residue-free sterilization technology. The experimental results showed that PAW prepared by air discharge had the best sterilization effect, followed by oxygen and nitrogen. PAW through air plasma treatment has a higher ORP value and longer efficiency, which was consistent with the results of pH and conductivity. According to Fenton reaction, PAW contained high concentrations of hydroxyl radical, which was responsible for its good bacte- ricidal effect.