<p>Food spoilage caused massive resource waste, economic losses in the food supply chain, and potential health risks. As a key measure to mitigate spoilage and extend shelf life, active packaging integrated with antibacterial, antioxidant, and other functional components outperformed traditional packaging. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), self-assembled by metal nodes and organic ligands, were ideal functional carriers for active packaging, owing to their unique porous structure, excellent stability, favorable biocompatibility, and tunable functionalities. Existing reviews on MOFs mainly covered synthesis, structural regulation, and multifield applications, focusing on the final performance mediated by metal–ligand combinations. This review innovatively and systematically clarified the independent effects of metal ions and organic ligands on the structural stability, functionality, and safety of MOFs from two dimensions. It summarized the structural characteristics and synthetic methods of MOFs, starting from MOFs construction to analyze the differential effects of metal ion valence, charge density, and organic ligand structure/functional groups on MOFs material properties. The review focused on discussing the construction strategies of zinc-based, copper-based, and zirconium-based MOFs, emphasizing the synergistic effects between metals and ligands. It explored the applications of these MOFs in food packaging, particularly in the sustained release of active substances, gas adsorption, and freshness monitoring. Finally, this study highlighted the current practical challenges and bottlenecks in the industrial transformation of MOF-based active packaging, including the costs of large-scale synthesis and the long-term stability of these materials in food matrices.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>