Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a group of bacteria showing promising probiotic characteristics conferring health benefits. Several studies have reported that LAB can inhibit pathogenic bacteria in the digestive system, reduce blood cholesterol levels, and improve functions of the immune system. A variety of fermented foods was reported as one of the sources of LAB. This study characterized LAB isolated from local fermented foods and determined the probiotic properties. Three potential probiotic strains, P09, P10, and P11 exhibited high acid and bile salt tolerances. The 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene analysis revealed that P09, P10 and P11 isolates were all identified as Lactobacillus plantarum. Additionally, all isolates showed negative results for hemolytic and deoxyribonuclease (DNase) activities in which they may be safe for applying as food vehicles. L. plantarum P10 showed the highest adhesion ability to Caco-2 cells at the level of 4.52%. L. plantarum P10 was thus investigated regarding the antimicrobial activity against bacterial pathogens by co-culture assay. The result demonstrated that the strain P10 had a significantly inhibitory effect on the growth of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella typhimurium DMST 560, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Bacillus cereus DMST 5040 after co-culturing for 24 h (p<0.05). Remarkably, L. plantarum P10 showed the highest activity against S. aureus with 58.63 % inhibition at 24 h of co-incubation. The results indicated that L. plantarum P10 isolated from local fermented fish (Pla-Som) satisfied the criteria for potential probiotics suitable for applying in products against foodborne pathogens. © 2022, Khon Kaen University,Research and Technology Transfer Affairs Division. All rights reserved.