Inactivation of Leuconostoc sp. isolated from kimchi using carbon dioxide under pressure was investigated in terms of operating parameters in order to evaluate its feasibility as a novel nonthermal process. Inactivation rates increased with increasing pressure, temperature and exposure time, but with decreasing working volume. Microbial reduction of 3 log cycles was achieved within 150 min under a $CO_2$ pressure of $60;kg/cm^2$ at 30^{circ}C$. It was confirmed that microbial inactivation by the high pressure $CO_2$ was governed essentially by the characteristic of $CO_2$ mass transfer and thus penetration of $CO_2$, into cells was a rate limiting step to determine efficiency of the inactivation process. The experimental results suggested that the high pressure $CO_2$ treatment could be used as one of the effective nonthermal methods for preserving foods.