ABSTRACT Fish is considered one of the most nutritive and highly desirable foodstuffs as fish meat has excellent nutritional value being rich in proteins, vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids. However, this high nutritional value, fish was incriminated as a cause of food poisoning, food intoxication, allergic and skin disorders as well as other many infectious diseases as a result of rapid deterioration. Thus, the present study was planned to throw a light on the quality of fresh fish sold at Zagazig markets and to investigate the effect of some natural additives on the quality and shelf life. Results revealed contamination of the examined fish by of enterococcus, Psychrotrophicand pseudomonas as well as different species of salmonella.Furthermore, treatment of fish by cumin oil 1%, rosemary and chitosan, separately, was effective method in fish preservation and shelflife extension during the cold storage. Chitosan was the best additive compared with cumin and rosemary.