<p><?tk 3?>Linalool is a high-value monoterpene alcohol widely used in the fragrance, flavor, pharmaceutical industries, as well as a component of jet fuel. However, conventional extraction from linalool-producing plants faces the challenges of costly, low productivity and sustainability. In this study, <i>Escherichia coli</i> W (ATCC 9637) was genetically engineered with plasmids pZR808, pZR1464 to enable linalool biosynthesis using beet juice-derived sucrose as the sole carbon source. The expression of linalool synthase (LinS) in genetically engineered <i>E. coli</i> W was confirmed by Western blot. GC-MS analysis confirmed linalool production. Continuous linalool production by <i>E. coli</i> W (pZR1464) accumulated to 141.6 µmols of linalool within 72&#xa0;h. Among the engineered strains, the pZR1464 strain, carrying both the LinS gene and the DXP operon, achieved the highest linalool yield of 50 mg L^− 1. Day^− 1. OD₆₀₀^− 1. Approximately 3–10 times greater yields than strain pZR808 bearing only the LinS. Sucrose utilization analysis indicated that <i>E. coli</i> consumed approximately 1.44 mmol of sucrose in the first 24&#xa0;h, primarily for biomass production. Conversion efficiency of sucrose to linalool significantly improved over time. It increased from 27.28 µmols of linalool mol^− 1 sucrose (within 24&#xa0;h) to 94.34 µmols of linalool mol^− 1 sucrose within 48&#xa0;h, demonstrating metabolic adaptability. The engineered strain exhibited stable growth kinetics without adverse effects, positioning strain pZR1464 as a promising candidate for sustainable linalool production. Future selection of more powerful LinS genes combined with introduction of an exogenous mevalonate (MVA) pathway, could boost the yields by more than 300-fold, leading to commercially viable production of linalool using beet juice as the sole carbon source.</p>