The vase life of cut roses is decreased by ethylene and water stress. Ethanol and sodium benzoate are among the antimicrobial and anti-ethylene compounds that are applied to vase solutions. This research investigated the effect of different rates of ethanol (0, 2, 4, and 6 %) and sodium benzoate (0, 150, 200, and 250 mg l-1) on the vase life of cut roses cv. ‘Avalanche’ in a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with 16 treatments and three replications. The experimental treatments were applied as a 24-hour pulse. Distilled water was used as the control. The results showed the significant interactive effect of “ethanol × sodium benzoate” on improving vase life and other studied traits. The longest vase life (13 days), water uptake (3.54 ml g-1 F.W.), dry matter (44.38 %), petal protein (35.08 %), and total chlorophyll (13.09 mg g-1 F.W.) were obtained from the application of “ethanol 4 % × 150 mg l-1 sodium benzoate”. This treatment also exhibited the lowest fresh weight loss (1.98 %), stem-end bacteria population (8.33 Log10 CFU ml), vase solution bacteria population (23.33 Log10 CFU ml), and ethylene synthesis (0.4 nl l-1 h-1 g-1 F.W.). According to the results, it is recommended to apply “ethanol 4% × 150 mg l-1 sodium benzoate” to preserve the quality and extend the vase life of cut roses cv. ‘Avalanche’. Manuscript profile