A B S T R A C T consumers increasingly demand of using natural preservatives as alternative to those chemical additives that has been questioned in last years. So, the effect of some essential oils as thyme, clove and garlic as antimicrobial agent against Staphylococcus aureus and their role in enhance shelf life of minced meat were studied. The sensory analysis indicated significant advantages in using thyme, clove and garlic oils in refrigerated minced beef. All used essential oils had considerable effectiveness in decreasing S. aureus count. In addition, the results indicated that the bacterial counts decreased as the concentration of the oil increased, accordingly, the concentration 1.5% of each oil gave the best effectiveness and the thyme oil showed the highest action followed by clove and garlic oils.