Fresh fruits and vegetables are prone to spoilage in a short time (within 5 to 8 hours) after harvest, due to the presence of field heat, also known as sensible heat, and microbial activities. However, pre-cooling techniques, before further processing, offer to remove the field heat, affecting quality, shelf-life extension and market value. Therefore, information on the pre-cooling techniques and their effect on the quality of cooled fruits and vegetables is critical for process design and quality control. In the present work, novel pre-cooling techniques and their effect on the quality of cooled fruits and vegetables are reviewed. The quality parameters such as physical properties (like size, shape, and color), nutritional properties (like vitamins and minerals) and sensory (appearance, odor, taste, texture and overall acceptance) properties as affected by the novel pre-cooling techniques including hydrocooling, forced air cooling and vacuum cooling were presented. The quality of cooled fruits and vegetables is based on the process conditions which is highly dependent on the pre-cooling techniques. The mass composition, heat content and thermal property of products are reportedly considered as main factors for cooling efficiency. To produce cooled fruits and vegetables with high quality, more study and optimization of the pre-cooling techniques is necessary. The present work should provide critical information on the novel pre-cooling techniques and their effect on the qualities of cooled fruits and vegetables as affected by process conditions and the products for future studies.