Background <p>Fermented glutinous rice has low alcohol content and abundant nutrients, but it is easily contaminated by <i>Bacillus cereus</i> during production and preservation. This study aimed to inhibit the spoilage bacterium <i>Bacillus cereus</i> in the fermented glutinous rice by bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria and its bacteriocin.</p> Results <p>Bacteriocin-producing <i>Pediococcus pentosaceus</i> JQ2-1 was isolated from traditional sweet wine koji and its bacteriocin ZJQ2-1 was purified by ethyl acetate extraction, cation exchange chromatography, gel chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Bacteriocin ZJQ2-1 was identified by HPLC–MS/MS, and the results showed it had a molecular weight of 1204.43 Da and the amino acid sequence was KIGLFGGAGVGKT. Further characterization analysis showed that the bacteriocin ZJQ2-1 was thermostable (30 min, 121°C), highly pH stable (2–10), sensitive to protease and exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial ability against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The count of <i>Bacillus cereus</i> in the fermented glutinous rice that was inoculated with <i>P. pentosaceus</i> JQ2-1 and bacteriocin ZJQ2-1 decreased by about 80% and 64% of that in the initial stage, respectively.</p> Conclusions <p>These results indicated the potential of <i>P. pentosaceus</i> JQ2-1 and bacteriocin ZJQ2-1 as a bio-preservative in glutinous rice products.</p>