Recovery of injured bacteria after high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment is a key point in food safety. In this study, protein synthesis during the recovery of meat environment bacteria Listeria monocytogenes CTC1011, Lactobacillus sakei 23K, L. sakei CTC494, Enterococcus faecalis CTC6365 and Enterococcus faecium CTC6375 after a 400 MPa HHP treatment was analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and peptide mass fingerprinting. After 2 h recovery from HHP treatment, the four species induced transcription factors and proteins related to protein synthesis or fate and enzymes from energy metabolism. However, several stress proteins were specifically induced in the two L. sakei strains. Proteins from the general metabolism predominated in E. faecalis and E. faecium, and stress proteins and proteases predominated in L. monocytogenes. Thus, each species induced a different number of proteins and displayed a specific response which may reflect its specific fitness status.