High-pressure processing (HPP) is a nonthermal technology that has been shown to effectively inactivate a wide range of microorganisms. However, the effectiveness of HPP on inactivation of viruses is relatively less well understood. We systematically investigated the effects of intrinsic (pH) and processing (pressure, time, and temperature) parameters on the pressure inactivation of a nonenveloped virus (human rotavirus [HRV]) and two enveloped viruses (vesicular stomatitis virus [VSV] and avian metapneumovirus [aMPV]). We demonstrated that HPP can efficiently inactivate all tested viruses under optimal conditions, although the pressure susceptibilities and the roles of temperature and pH substantially varied among these viruses regardless of the presence of a viral envelope. We found that VSV was much more stable than most food-borne viruses, whereas aMPV was highly susceptible to HPP. When viruses were held for 2 min under 350 MPa at 4°C, 1.1-log, 3.9-log, and 5.0-log virus reductions were achieved for VSV, HRV, and aMPV, respectively. Both VSV and aMPV were more susceptible to HPP at higher temperature and lower pH. In contrast, HRV was more easily inactivated at higher pH, although temperature did not have a significant impact on inactivation. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the damage of virion structure by disruption of the viral envelope and/or capsid is the primary mechanism underlying HPP-induced viral inactivation. In addition, VSV glycoprotein remained antigenic although VSV was completely inactivated. Taken together, our findings suggest that HPP is a promising technology to eliminate viral contaminants in high-risk foods, water, and other fomites.High-pressure processing (HPP) is a nonthermal pasteurization technology that uses pressure instead of thermal energy to inactivate harmful pathogens. In the food industry, HPP has been used to inactivate food-borne infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and prions) and proteins (such as enzymes, allergens, and toxins) (2, 3, 6, 9). The primary advantage of HPP is that it has minimal effect on the organoleptic and nutritional properties of foods compared to other processing methods, since the treatment does not disrupt the covalent bonds stabilizing the structure of micronutrients as well as color and flavor compounds (3,5,23,39). In addition, since pressure acts instantaneously and uniformly throughout the pressure vessel, the structure and texture of many high-moisture foods are minimally affected. In today's modern society, consumers are increasingly demanding food products that are minimally processed and free of preservatives. Thus, HPP is becoming a widely used nonthermal processing technology that can ensure food safety, food quality, shelf-life extension, and nutritional value.Despite the extensive research on the inactivation of bacterial pathogens by HPP, the inactivation of viruses by HPP is less well understood. With regard to applications in the area of food safety, HPP studies have focused on food-and waterborne virus...