Abstract: Abstract: As consumers are mainly concerned about meat odor and color, chilled meat has a higher possibility of rejection due to their perishability. In order to solve the above problems, antioxidants and packaging technologies have been widely applied into the meat industry, but considering risks due to the consumption of antioxidants, low convenience and cost effectiveness of packaging solutions, there is an urgent need for an alternative technology that decreases risk, offers convenience and minimizes the price of processing. Edible coatings have been used to preserve meat quality, but their application is limited in the meat industry. The potential of gelatin as an edible coating comes from its film forming capability. Currently, gelatin has been used as a kind of coating material for food products and in certain instances has been a practical and successful protecting agent. The purpose of this research was to study the effect of gelatin coating on maintaining oxidative stability and freshness of chilled pork with a storage period of 7 d. Porcine m. longissimus dorsi muscles were selected from 10 carcasses cooled for 24 h at 4 ℃, from a local abattoir. Samples were cut into rectangular shape (10 cm × 5 cm × 2 cm) regardless of the fiber direction, and divided into 3 groups, weighed and refrigerated (4 ℃) until treated. The meat samples were coated with pork skin gelatin (expansion coefficient of 175 bloom) at 3 concentrations (0, 10%, and 20%) for 5 s at 60 ℃. The control samples were not dipped. After treatment all samples were reweighed. All samples were stored at 4 ℃ for 7 d with no packaging as a means to prevent the change of meat quality in a simulated fresh retail display setting, and pressing water loss rate, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), heme iron (HI) mass fraction, protein carbonyl, TVB-N (total volatile basic nitrogen) value, color change, and metmyoglobin (MetMb) mass fraction were analyzed. The results indicated that there was a significant difference (P<0.05) for TBARS values, HI mass fraction, protein carbonyl, a* value, MetMb mass fraction with treatments maintaining the values more similar to a fresher product compared to the controls on the 3rd, 5th and 7th day. In addition, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) on any of the parameters between 10% and 20% gelatin coating in storage days. Our experiments confirmed that the application of gelatin coating to pork helped to extend the shelf life of pork when stored at 4 ℃. Gelatin coating helped to reduce total color change, prevent a loss of redness and retard MetMb formation, thus preserving the appearance of meat. Gelatin coating also slowed down lipid oxidation, protein oxidation and decomposition, and HI conversion, thus reducing the chance of formation of off-flavors in the meat. In addition, gelatin's ability to decrease moisture loss would improve the value of meat. Gelatin coating would be applied on fresh meat during refrigeration storage if the product is to be sold within a couple of days. In conclusion, gelatin coating treatment is an effective alternative technique that should be introduced to the meat industry and the consumer for prolonging the shelf life of the product.