Combining antimicrobial agents such as plant essential oils directly into a food packaging is a form of active packaging. In this work chitosan-based films containing cinnamon essential oil (CEO) at level of 0.4%, .0.8%, and 1.5% and 2% (v/v) were prepared to examine their antibacterial, physical and mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopy was carried out to explain structure–property relationships. Incorporating CEO into chitosan-based films increased antimicrobial activity. CEO decreased moisture content, solubility in water, water vapour permeability and elongation at break of chitosan films. It is postulated that the unique properties of the CEO added films could suggest the cross-linking effect of CEO components within the chitosan matrix. Electron microscopy images confirmed the results obtained in this study.