Display omitted •Nanoemulsified clove essential oil (NCEO)-fish gelatin (FG) was prepared.•NCEO-FG inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas spp. on fillets.•NCEO-FG effectively delayed the deterioration of tilapia fillets.•NCEO-FG disturbed metabolisms of Pseudomonas spp.•Pseudomonas spp. developed a defense system within 24 h. Fish products suffer Pseudomonas-causing spoilage quickly during refrigeration storage, which could be solved by applying edible coating derived from nanoemulsified clove essential oils and fish gelatin (NCEO-FG). This study aimed to evaluate the effects and mechanism of NCEO-FG in preserving tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fillets that were inoculated with Pseudomonas spp. (Pseudomonas sp. strain ABa3, P. psychrophila strain ABe3, and P. fragi strain BBa3). NCEO caused remarkable leakage of proteins (198.5–252.8 μg/L) and nucleic acids (0.30–0.34 of OD260). After being incorporated into FG, NCEO-FG effectively delayed the deterioration of tilapia fillets because it significantly reduced the surviving bacteria populations (0.78 – 1.80 log CFU/g reductions) and inhibited the proteolysis and oxidation during cold storage. Further, the metabolic responses of NCEO-FG coated Pseudomonas spp. were revealed using NMR spectroscopy: the reducing levels of metabolites (e.g., pyruvate, amino acids, and betaine) suggested that the NCEO-FG disturbed energy and amino acid metabolisms of bacteria cells. However, the levels of metabolites (e.g., amino acids and osmoprotectants) were upregulated after 3 h and then back to normal concentration after 24 h, which indicated a defense system was built in bacterial cells to tolerate NCEO-FG. In short, this study confirmed that NCEO-FG could control the Pseudomonas-causing spoilage in fish fillets via elucidating the metabolisms.