To investigate the antimicrobial resistance and molecular characterization of Salmonella isolates from food in Taizhou, establish the molecular characteristics background of foodborne Salmonella, and provide science basis for foodborne diseases prevention and control. Methods 22 Salmonella strains isolated from food in recent years were tested for 12 kinds of antibiotics susceptibility and were screened for 10 potential virulence factors by polymerase chain reaction. All strains were genotyped by PFGE and analyzed with BioNumerics 5.0 software. Results The general resistant rate of 22 Salmonella strains was 59.1%. The strains were most resistant to co-trimoxazole (36%), tetracycline (27%) and nalidixic acid (27%). All strains were detected more than 6 kinds of virulence factors. One strain of S.enteritidis was found harboring virulence islands, plasmid and phages. 21 bands were separated by PFGE, which could be divided into five genotypes including 18 kinds of fingerprints. The homology between genotypes was less than 70%. Conclusion Foodborne Salmonella could be a food risk, and the fingerprint databases could provide technical supports for foodborne disease prevention and control.