The objective of the present invention is to provide an antimicrobial composition that can be safely used with a broad range of foods and beverages, cosmetics, drugs, and other similar products while showing growth inhibition activity against a wide variety of microorganisms. The present invention relates to the antimicrobial composition comprising at least one cooling agent selected from the group consisting of menthyl 3-hydroxybutanoate, 2-methyl-3-(menthoxy)propane-1,2-diol, 2-(menthoxy)ethanol, 3-menthoxypropan-1-ol, 2-(2-menthoxyethoxy)ethanol, and menthyl glyoxylate.