Phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids have health-promoting benefits that play some important roles in foods as visual appearance, taste, aroma and represent an abundant antioxidant component of the human and animal diet. High hydrostatic pressure processing (HHPP) conditions (300-700 MPa) at moderate initial temperatures (around ambient) are generally sufficient to inactivate vegetative pathogens for pasteurization processes, some enzymes, or spoilage organisms to extend the shelf-life. The aim of the review is to reveal the effect of high hydrostatic pressure processing strategies on the retention of antioxidant phenolic bioactives in foods and beverages. HHPP can increase extraction capacity of phenolic constituents, and ensure higher levels of preserved bioactive constituents. High pressure extraction (HPE) can shorten processing times, provide higher extraction yields while having less negative effects on the structure and antioxidant activity of bioactive constituents. HPE enhances mass transfer rates, increases cell permeability, increases diffusion of phenolics and retain higher levels of bioactive compounds. Total phenolics in HHPP-treated foods were either unaffected or actually increased in concentration and/or extractability following treatment with high pressure.