•Maillard reaction (MR) improve the water solubility of chitosan.•MR enhances the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and emulsifying properties of chitosan.•Chitosan-Maillard reaction products (MRPs) protect food against lipid oxidation.•Chitosan-MRPs inhibits the microbial spoilage and extend the shelf life of food.•Chitosan- MRPs can be used as a functional biomaterial for foods preservation. This review provides an insight about the functional properties of chitosan obtained through Maillard reaction to enhance the shelf life and food quality. Maillard reaction is a promising and safe method to obtain commercial water-soluble chitosan’s through Schiff base linkage and Amadori or Heyns rearrangement. Likewise, chitosan derivatives exert an enhanced antimicrobial, antioxidant, and emulsifying properties due to the development of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) like reductones and melanoidins. Additionally, the application of chitosan-MRPs effectively inhibited the microbial spoilage, reduced lipid oxidative, and extended the shelf life and the quality of fresh food products. Therefore, understand the potential of chitosan-MRPs derivatives as a functional biomaterial to improve the postharvest quality and extending the shelf life of food products will scale up its application as a food preservative.