| Summary: | Beef jerky is a traditional fermented meat product from Inner Mongolia, handcrafted by artisans. We investigated the bacteria of the microbial community, volatile flavor components, and biogenic amines of Inner Mongolia beef jerky via high-throughput sequencing, solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. Thirty-three bacteria were identified, predominantly from the genera <i>Pseudomonas</i> (45.4%), <i>Ralstonia</i> (13.4%), and <i>Acinetobacter</i> (7.3%). Fifty-nine volatile flavor compounds and eight biogenic amines were detected. Based on Spearman’s correlation coefficient, 20 bacterial genera were significantly associated with the dominant volatile compounds in the beef jerky samples (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The results demonstrated that beef jerky may be toxic due to cadaverine, putrescine, and histamine; moreover, the amounts of putrescine and cadaverine were positively correlated with the abundance of <i>unclassified_f_Enterobacteriaceae</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.05). These findings shed light on the formation of the microbial community, flavor components, and biogenic amines of beef jerky, thereby providing a basis for improving its quality.
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