Phosphates are widely used as food additives in meat products to increase the water-holding capacity, reduce the cooking loss and improve the textural properties. Furthermore, phosphates protect aroma and accelerate the formation of cured meat color as well as having antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. Many research about using phosphates in meat products showed that increasing chain length of phosphates improves antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. It has been stated that vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging, the use of phosphates with natural antioxidants and encapsulation of phosphates are useful approaches to enhance the antioxidant effects of phosphates. It has been reported that irradiation, vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging, storage at low temperature and the use of the salt provide strong synergistic effect on the antimicrobial properties of phosphates. In this review, researches about antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of phosphates and suggestions for the meat industry about industrial applications of phosphates are presented.