Abstract: Objective To understand the contamination status and drug resistance of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) in commercially available frozen poultry and livestock meat and their products in Zhangzhou City, and to provide a reference basis for the prevention and control of foodborne diseases caused by DEC. Methods In 2024, a total of 240 samples of frozen poultry and livestock meat and their products were collected from supermarkets, farmers' markets, and online stores, and isolation, identification, and drug resistance analyses of DEC were conducted. Results Among the 240 samples, 42 samples were tested positive for DEC, with a detection rate of 17.50%. Specifically, the DEC detection rate in frozen poultry meat and its products was higher than that in frozen livestock meat and its products (χ²=4.122, P=0.042); the detection rate in the first and fourth quarters was higher than that in the second and third quarters (χ²=13.968, P=0.003). A total of 44 DEC strains were isolated, among which enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) was the dominant type, accounting for 90.91%, and mainly carried the astA gene, followed by the pic gene. When the difference level value of MALDI-TOF-MS cluster analysis was set at 1000, the 44 Escherichia coli strains were divided into 2 major clusters, with 28 strains in Cluster I and 16 strains in Cluster II. When the difference level value was 200, the strains could be classified into 12 types, among which Type c was dominant (27.27%). Among the 44 DEC strains, 37 DEC strains showed different degrees of resistance to 11 categories of antibiotics, 36 strains were resistant to 3 or more classes of antibiotics, with multidrug-resistant strains accounting for 81.82%, and 21 strains were resistant to more than 7 types of antibiotics. Conclusion The detection rate of DEC in commercially available frozen poultry and livestock meat and their products in Zhangzhou City was relatively high, and the phenomenon of multidrug resistance was quite severe. This should attract the attention of relevant authorities, who should strengthen food safety supervision and the management of antibiotic use and enhance popular science and education to reduce the risk of foodborne diseases caused by DEC contamination.