This study analyzed the antibacterial activity of a Rubus coreanum (Bokbunja) ethanol extract. The antimicrobial activity was determined by disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and growth inhibition methods with seven kinds of bacteria related to foodborne illness (Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhimurium). In the results, disc diffusions of the ethanol extract from R. coreanum (9.8-17.5 mm at 4,000 μg/disc) clearly showed the antimicrobial activity of the extract against all tested microorganisms. Rubus coreanum promoted an inhibitory effect as follows: E. coli O157:H7 > P. aeruginosa > L. monocytogenes > E. coli > S. aureus > B. cereus ≥ S. typhimurium. In the MIC test, R. coreanum showed high antimicrobial effect against L. monocytogenes at 500 ppm. Moreover, the R. coreanum ethanol extract showed strong growth inhibition against microorganisms, similar to the MIC results. These results show that a R. coreanum ethanol extract has powerful antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms, suggesting that R. coreanum will be useful as a potential natural preservative.