The antibacterial and antifungal effect of grapefruit seed extract(GFSE) was investigated for its purpose of application to a diverse spectrum of field as sanitizers, disinfectants and preservatives. GFSE showed comparatively high content of such flavoniods as naringin and hesperidin and ascorbic acid. GFSE containing a low level of organic acids is a heavy viscous and water-soluble liquid. As a result of the antimicrobial test of GFSE, Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus oryzae did not survive at detectable levels when treated with more than 100 ppm of GFSE. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of GFSE for a wide variety of pathogenic and putrefactive bacteria, fungi and yeasts were 100 ppm and 250 ppm, respectively. In the comparable electron micrograph of microbial cells treated with GFSE or not, we could conclude that GFSE destroy microorganisms by disrupting the functions of the cell wall membrane and microbial spores.