BACKGROUND: The emergence and spread of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) in the food industry have led to using alternative natural bioagents for controlling in food. AIMS: The current work aimed to isolate and characterize a lytic phage specific to and evaluate its efficacy with thyme essential oil for controlling growth in chicken fillets METHODS: Twenty strains previously isolated from ready-to-eat chicken products were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility and used for phage isolation. RESULTS: All strains were multidrug-resistant (MDR). The isolated phage (vB_SauM_CP9) belonged to the family and maintained its stability at pH (4-9) and temperature (30-70°C). The phage showed lytic activity on ten strains and had a burst size (228 PFU/infected cell), latent period (45 min), and rise period (15 min). A combination of phage multiplicity of infection (MOI) 10 + thyme oil 1% caused a higher significant reduction in growth (87.22%) in artificially inoculated chicken fillets than individual treatment with bacteriophage or thyme essential oil. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report to evaluate the efficacy of bacteriophage and thyme oil for controlling the growth of MDR in chicken products and recommending application of phage and thyme oil combination in the food industry to achieve food safety goals and consumer protection as well as mitigate the antimicrobial resistance crisis.