The whitefish was selected as research object to study the effects of different preservation methods on storage quality and shelf life. Under the storage condition of 3 ℃, treated by three different preservation methods of irradiation, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and irradiation, and modified atmosphere packaging and irradiation after preservative pretreatment respectively, the quality change of light salted whitefish in sensory evaluation, total viable count (TVC), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) and pH value were studied as the evaluation indicators. The results showed that comprehensive preservation treated group performed well in preservation effect. On the basis of total viable count, the packaging shelf life of whitefish was 25 days, while the group of light salted, MAP and irradiation was 19 days, the group with light salted and irradiation was 14 days.