Objective This study aims to evaluate the effects of different sterilization methods on the physicochemical properties, phenolic compounds, and aroma components of pomegranate juice, providing a scientific basis for selecting sterilization techniques in pomegranate juice processing.Methods 'Tunisia' soft-seed pomegranate juice is subjected to pasteurization (PS), ultrasound (US), high-pressure processing (HPP), and microwave sterilization (MS), respectively. Physicochemical properties and volatile compound content are determined.Results HPP demonstrates superior performance in preserving pomegranate juice quality compared to other treatments. PS treatment significantly reduces the redness value from 16.82 to 12.37 and results in the highest total color difference of 4.82, indicating considerable color deterioration. In contrast, the HPP group exhibits a total color difference value of only 1.77. The vitamin C content in the HPP group (22.18 mg/100 mL) is substantially higher than that in the PS group (7.35 mg/100 mL). The retention rates of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and cyanidin-3,5-O-diglucoside in the HPP group reach 67.02% and 66.20%, respectively, significantly outperforming the PS group. HPP better preserves major flavor compounds such as alcohols, esters, and terpenes, whereas PS and MS treatments markedly promote the formation of undesirable furan compounds (the total furan content in PS group is 54.22 μg/L, compared to 0.28 μg/L in the control group, CK).Conclusion HPP is significantly superior to PS, US, and MS treatments in maintaining the color, vitamin C, anthocyanins and other phenolics, and major flavor compounds of pomegranate juice, while effectively inhibiting the formation of undesirable flavors (e.g., furan compounds). HPP is a highly promising sterilization technology for improving the quality of pomegranate juice.