The application of nitrite-degrading Lactobacillus plantarum 36 in pickle production was evaluated by determining its growth characteristics using the naphthalene ethylenediamine hydrochloride and plate counting methods. The results showed that strain 36 had the largest number of viable bacteria (9.49 lg CFU/mL) after 12 h culture and exhibited strong acid and salt tolerance. The pH value of pickle prepared under natural fermentation decreased to 3.42 on day 7, whereas that of the test group using strain 36 dropped to 3.34 on day 3. The total acid content peaked and became stable on day 7 for the natural fermentation group, whereas that of the test group peaked (6.16 g/kg) and stabilized on day 5. Hence, the treatment shortened the pickle production cycle. The nitrite content in the natural fermentation group reached 2.10 mg/kg on day 9, whereas that of the test group remained at approximately 1.13 mg/kg by day 9, which was significantly lower than that of the natural fermentation group (p<0.05). This indicates that strain 36 can degrade the nitrite in the pickle reasonably well. The number of lactic acid bacteria reached a maximum on day 3 for the natural fermentation group (8.16 lg CFU/mL), but that of the test group reached the highest value on day 7 (9.95 lg CFU/mL) and was an order of magnitude higher than that of the natural fermentation group. Moreover, the sensory evaluation scores of the two groups of pickles was not significantly different (p>0.05). The findings on L. plantarum 36 in this study provide a theoretical basis for reducing the nitrite content in pickles and the stain is of practical significance in pickle production.