This study used traditional culture and high-throughput sequencing techniques to analyze the status of microbial contamination on the surface of chicken carcasses and that of pre-cooled water during the slaughter process of yellowfeathered broilers, including plucking, evisceration, pre-cooling, and packaging. The results demonstrated that the total bacterial count of chicken carcasses after plucking, evisceration, and pre-cooling were 4.82, 5.03, and 4.68 (lg (CFU/g)), respectively, indicating that the slaughtering process did not achieve good decontamination; instead, there was severe microbial contamination in the carcasses after slaughter. High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that at the genus level, the dominant spoilage bacteria on the surface of broiler carcasses and in pre-cooled water during slaughter and processing were Moraxella, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Lactobacillus, Macrococcus, Psychrobater, and Acinetobacter. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed no significant difference among primary and secondary pre-cooled water, pre-cooled chicken carcasses, and packaged chicken carcasses in terms of bacterial community composition at the genus level, but a significant difference between them and plucked carcasses and eviscerated carcasses. This indicates that the composition of bacteria contaminating pre-cooled water determines that on the slaughtered carcasses. Considering the changes in the composition and abundance of bacteria contaminating yellow-feathered broiler carcasses during the slaughter process, control approaches are needed to ensure the quality and safety of yellow-feathered broiler products.