The present invention relates to a composition for preserving cells and a cell preservation method and, more specifically: to a composition for preserving cells, containing, as active ingredients, a plant-derived recombinant human serum albumin and a plant peptide, which maintain a high cell survival rate while maintaining animal-free and xeno-free properties and are stable without changes in cell morphology or a surface expression factor during the short term preservation of cells such as stem cells or primary cultured cells； and a cell preservation method using the same.
