Under stirring condition, the essence microcapsules were prepared through complex coacervation method by using gelatin and softener di(stearylamidoethyl) epoxypropyl ammonium acetate (ES) as wall materials for the first time. The effects of the dosage of glutaraldehyde, the mass ratio of gelatin to ES, and concentration of gelatin on the shape, size and distribution of microcapsules were studied and characterized by TEM, SEM and particle size analyzer. The results showed that essence microcapsules with regular spherical, uniform particle size distribution were obtained when the mass ratio of glutaraldehyde to gelatin and gelatin to ES were 2.2:1 and 1:0.3, respectively, and the concentration of ES was 1.5% wt%. And the mean size of dry essence microcapsules were less than 1μm. Slow-release performance test showed that the essence microcapsules had excellent slow-release performance. UV-Vis test showed that the essence-loading rate and encapsulation efficiency of cologne essence microcapsules were 41.1% and 95.3%, respectively.