To investigate the molecular characteristics of the L.monocytogenes isolated from food in Taizhou, establish the background profile, and to provide supports for prevention and control of foodborne diseases.Methods Thirty-seven L.monocytogene strains isolated from food in recent years were divided into serogroups by a multiplex PCR assay and screened for 9 potential virulence factors including prfA, inlA, inlB, iap, flaA, hlyA, plcB, mpl and actA by single PCR. All strains were genotyped by PFGE results analyzed with BioNumerics 6.6 software. Results The serotype 1/2a or 3a was the major serovar of L.monocytogenes from food in Taizhou area. More than four types of virulence genes were detected in all strains. Fifteen L.monocytogene strains harbored all nine virulence genes. A total of 37 strains were divided into 22 PFGE patterns with Apa I digestion. Each pattern included 1-5 strains with similarity ranged from 67%-100%. Conclusion Foodborne L.monocytogenes were one of the risk factors of foodborne illness in Taizhou. The established fingerprint databases could provide technical support for the prevention and control of foodborne diseases.