The purpose of this study was to examine the cellular response of Salmonella typhimurium exposed to tea polyphenols (TPP) extracted from Korean green tea (Camellia sinensis L.). TPP showed a dose-dependent bactericidal effect on S. typhimurium. Analysis of cell membrane fatty acids of S. typhimurium cultures treated with TPP identified unique changes in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, while scanning electron microscopic analysis demonstrated the presence of perforations and irregular rod forms with wrinkled surfaces in cells treated with TPP. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of soluble protein fractions from S. typhimurium cultures showed 16 protein spots increased by TPP. These up-regulated proteins including proteins involved in antioxidants and chaperons, transcript and binding proteins, energy and DNA metabolism were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting using MALDI-TOF. These results provide clues for understanding the mechanism of TPP induced stress and cytotoxicity on S. typhimurium.