Winter jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Mill. cv. Dalidongzao) is susceptible to machinery damage due to its high moisture content. The present study investigates the impact of varying levels of vibration acceleration on the softening and quality deterioration of winter jujubes through utilization of a simulated transport platform. The results demonstrated that, in comparison to the control group, winter jujubes treated with vibration exhibited a higher susceptibility to decay and weight loss. Additionally, they displayed an elevated respiration intensity and experienced a significant depletion of nutrients. The vibration promoted an increase in enzyme activity of polygalacturonase (PG), pectin methylesterase (PME) and cellulase (Cx), upregulated gene expression, and induced a reduction in pectin, cellulose and hemicellulose content, ultimately resulting in the softening of winter jujube. The hardness of winter jujube decreased by 34.87%, 37.80% and 44.92% in the shelf life under vibration accelerations of 0.25 g, 0.5 g and 0.75 g, respectively, whereas it only decreased by 28.60% in the control group. In addition, the damage caused by vibration was also observed in the microstructure of peel and pulp. The findings demonstrate that the vibrational impact significantly influenced the quality of winter jujube, resulting in a reduced shelf life and diminished commodity value. • The degradation of winter jujube quality is expedited by vibration acceleration. • The vibration acceleration hastened the nutrient degradation of winter jujube. • Vibration treatment enhanced cell wall metabolic enzyme activity of winter jujube. • Vibration treatment upregulated the gene expression of ZjPG , ZjPME and ZjCx. • Higher vibration acceleration destroyed the cell structure of winter jujube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]