The work aims to prepare the antimicrobial packaging paper with magnolia extract as the antimicrobial constituents, and study its influence on the fresh-keeping effect of cheese. The antimicrobial constituents of magnolia were extracted by ultrasonic-assisted extraction, their qualitative analysis was done by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the total phenolic content was tested by the folin-ciocalteu colorimetric method. The coating antimicrobial paper and dipping antimicrobial paper were prepared by the methods of coating and dipping respectively, and their physical properties were tested. The 2 kinds of antimicrobial packaging papers were applied in cheese preservation. Its sensory quality, the total number of bacterial colonies and the peroxide value were tested. The results showed that, the magnolia extract contained magnolia and honokiol, and the total phenolic content was 47.4 mg/g. The smoothness, quantitation, tensile strength and tearing resistance of coating antimicrobial paper were superior to the base paper, while its water absorption was less than base paper. The coating antimicrobial paper and dipping antimicrobial paper had significant effect on maintaining the sensory quality of the cheese and delaying the increase of the total number of bacterial colonies and the peroxide value (P<0.05) compared with the base paper, in particular, the cheese packaged with the coating antimicrobial paper containing magnolia extract of 10% mass fraction presented the best fresh-keeping effect, and its shelf life was prolonged for about 14 days compared with the base paper. In conclusion, the coating antimicrobial paper based on magnolia extract has a good fresh-keeping effect on cheese, which can significantly extend its shelf life.