tOne of the microorganisms present in poultry meat products responsible for the most usual foodborneintoxication is Staphylococcus aureus. Essential oil of spices has been used as a bio-preservative due to itsantimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicro-bial activity in vitro of the essential oils of oregano and marjoram against S. aureus isolated from poultrymeat marketed in Pelotas/RS—Brazil, and to carry out the phenotypic and molecular characterization ofthese oils. For this, twenty samples of poultry meat were analyzed. Staphylococcus spp. was isolated fromBaird Parker agar, and its molecular characterization was performed by PCR. All isolates of S. aureus weretested for the presence of genes coding for staphylococcal enterotoxins. Antimicrobial activity of essen-tial oils of oregano and marjoram was evaluated by disk diffusion, minimal inhibitory concentration andminimal bactericidal concentration. The results showed that seventeen samples were contaminated byStaphylococcus positive-coagulase and nine were positive to acriflavine resistance and thermonucleasetests, and in the last ones S. aureus was confirmed. The genes coding for staphylococcal enterotoxinsdetected were sea (6) and seb (3). All isolates were sensitive to essential oils tested, indicating that thesecan be an alternative to food preservation.