The effect of plasma functionalized water (PW) pretreatment and influencing factors including treatment time and voltage were investigated on the drying kinetics, nutrition and sensory properties of tomato slices during infrared-accelerated pulsed vacuum drying (IR-PVD). Results revealed that PW pretreatment caused disruptions in tomato cellular structure that were greater with increasing treatment time and voltage, due to strong acidification and etching from reactive species in PW. These disruptions accelerated the removal of moisture during IR-PVD to shorten drying time by 25%, and improve visual appearance, rehydration, porosity, phenols and flavonoids, soluble solids, lycopene, ascorbic acid, but reduced chewiness, gumminess and hardness properties. Overall, the findings revealed the propitious potentials of PW and indicated the significant effects of PW influencing factors for accelerating drying characteristics and increasing the functional and nutrition properties of tomato slices during IR-PVD, providing a theoretical basis for developing novel energy-saving drying approaches. •Plasma water provides a viable alternative for pretreating tomato slices prior to IR-PVD.•Increasing treatment time and voltage led to increased porosity in the microstructure.•Plasma water accelerated moisture transfer and shortened drying time.•Highest vitamin C retention achieved at the peak of treatment time and voltage.•Future studies should emphasis on optimization for large-scale applications.