Meatballs are one of the most popular processed meats in various countries. The meats commonly used to make meatballs are beef, chicken, and fish. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the nitrogen, carbon, and Tween sources on the growth and antimicrobial activity of bacteriocin of P. pentosaceus strain 2397 and to assess the quality of fish balls preserved with bacteriocin from P. pentosaceus strain 2397 during initial storage at freezing temperature in –18 °C. The experimental design used in this study was a factorial, completely randomized design. There were two factors, i.e. bacteriocin concentrations (0, 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, and 0.60%) and storage time (0, 3, 6, and 9 d). Data obtained were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and continued with Duncan multiple range test (DMRT) at 5% level. Meanwhile, data on microbiological counts were tabulated and analyzed descriptively. The data showed that the addition of various nitrogen, carbon, or Tween sources did not significantly (p > 0.05) affect the growth of P. pentosaceus strain 2397. The addition of peptone, beef extract or ammonium sulfate, lactose, or Tween 80 into the de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe broth (MRSB) significantly (p < 0.05) increased the bacteriocin antimicrobial activity of strain 2397 against E. coli. Using 0.60% bacteriocin produced fish balls according to the quality standard of fish balls and maintained the quality of fish balls during initial storage for 9 d at freezing temperatures.