The monosaccharide composition and antioxidant activity of extracellular polysaccharides from Lactobacillus plantarum were analyzed. Crude polysaccharides were obtained from the fermentation broth of Lactobacillus plantarum by water extraction and alcohol precipitation and were fractionated into two fractions (DZ-1 and DZ-2) by DEAE-52 cellulose column chromatography. The monosaccharide components of DZ-1 and DZ-2 were analyzed by gas chromatography, and their antioxidant activity was tested using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhy drazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radical, and 2,2’-diazo bis-3-ethyl benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) cation radical scavenging assays. DZ-1 was a homopolysaccharide composed of only glucose units, while DZ-2 was a heteropolysaccharide composed of arabinose and galactose with a content ratio of 46.03:53.89. Both DZ-1 and DZ-2 had the ability to scavenge DPPH, hydroxyl and ABTS cation radicals.