The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation on the antioxidant activity of kelp Saccharina japonica water extract. Three LAB strains that had exhibited superior antioxidant activity in a previous study were selected for the kelp fermentation starter. The antioxidant activity of the fermented extracts was analyzed during fermentation. After 48 h of fermentation, the extract-fermented Lactobacillus plantarum D-11 strains showed the highest antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging, ABTS [2,2"-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] radical scavenging, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) assay. Furthermore, the analysis of total phenolic and flavonoid contents revealed that the enhanced antioxidant activity was mainly due to the increased antioxidant content from fermentation. Thus, this study suggests that probiotic LAB fermentation is an attractive approach for the development of various kelp fermentation products.