Background: Lactic acid bacteria have been proposed for the control of undesirable fermentation and subsequently aerobic deterioration due to their ability to produce antimicrobial metabolites in silage mass. To investigate the effect of specific LAB on silage fermentation characteristics and bacterial community composition of oat in cold region, silages were treated without additives (CK) or with three LAB strains (LB, Lactobacillus buchneri; nLP, low temperature tolerant Lactobacillus planrtarum; pLP, phenyllactic acid-producing Lactobacillus plantarum), and then stored at ambient temperature (< 20 ℃) for 30, 60 and 90 days. Results: Compared with CK, inoculation of LAB decreased final pH value, butyric acid content, ammonia-N of total N and dry matter loss of silage. Treatments with nLP and pLP increased (P < 0.05) lactic acid content, whereas LB increased (P < 0.05) acetic acid content of silage. Lactobacillus and Leuconstoc dominated in the silages with relative abundance of 68.29~96.63%. A prolonged storage period enhanced growth of Leuconstoc in pLP treated silage. In addition, pLP increased (P < 0.05) aerobic stability of silage as compared with nLP. Conclusions: In conclusion, inoculation of LAB improved silage fermentation and/or delayed aerobic deterioration by shifting bacterial community composition during ensiling. Phenyllactic acid-producing Lactobacillus plantarum as an inoculant exhibited potential for high quality silage production.