Food spoilage waste accelerated the development of bio-based active food packaging. Sustained-release composite films based on oxidized corn starch/ pullulan were prepared by incorporating cinnamon essential oil (CEO) nanoemulsion. The SEM, ATR-FTIR and XRD results showed that CEO was successfully encapsulated in film matrixes. The composite films exhibited the increase of thermal stability, UV-shielding, flexibility and water vapor resistance properties. The films containing CEO nanoemulsion (≥10%) showed excellent antimicrobial activities against S. aureus, E. coli and B. cinerea (the maximum inhibition zones achieving 27.23 ± 2.31 mm). The release kinetics results showed sustained release of CEO from the films with high content of CEO nanoemulsion, and the dominant release mechanism was Fickian diffusion. The composite films effectively maintained cell structure, weight, firmness and total soluble solids content of fruits during storage. Therefore, the sustained-release composite films could be a prospective packaging material for fruits preservation.