Abstract: Ohmic heating is a new technology in food engineering. Electrical conductivity is one of the electrical properties of food. Ohmic heating is an important processing method using the electrical conductivity. The principle and characteristics of the ohmic heating were introduced in this paper. Some factors influencing the electrical conductivity of food were discussed and the effects of electrical conductivity of food on ohmic heating process were expounded. The utilizations of the ohmic heating in sterilization, meat processing and starch gelatinization were also introduced. The future studies of ohmic heating were pointed out.