This study investigated the quality characteristics of sweet pumpkin after blanching. Sweet pumpkins were blanched in distilled water, 2% citric acid and 2% NaCl water at 100oC for 3 min. The cooking loss of sweet pumpkin in the blanching groups was lower than that in the control group, and greenness and yellowness in the blanching groups were higher than those in the control group (p<0.001). Total polyphenol content (TPC) of sweet pumpkin increased after blanching (p<0.05), and TPC true retention (TR) was measured with the highest NB. CON and NB were significantly higher in ?- carotene content (p<0.001). Lutein content in the blanching treatment groups was lower than that in the control group, but NB was the highest between the blanching groups (p<0.001). DPPH and ABTS+ radical scavenging activity assays revealed higher antioxidant activity in the NB groups among the blanching groups (p<0.001). The CON was 2.44 log colonyforming unit (CFU)/ g in the total bacterial count, but there were no microorganisms in the blanching groups. In conclusion, blanching with the addition of 2% NaCl can inhibit the growth of microorganisms and improve TR and antioxidant activities in sweet pumpkin.