Twenty-four crude extracts derived from six medicinal plants highly valued as antidiarrhoeal agents in Congolese folk medicine were screened for antimicrobial activity against several enteric pathogens. The results of this study indicated that the methanolic and aqueous extracts derived from three of them (Roureopsis obliquifoliolata, Epinetrum villosum and Cissus rubiginosa) possessed prominent antibacterial activity, therefore supporting the ethnomedical uses of these species. In addition, phytochemical analysis of these medicinal plants showed that 1/6 plant sample contained alkaloids, 6/6 triterpenes and/or sterols, 4/6 flavonoids, 3/6 tannins and 5/6 saponins. Anthraquinones were not detected in any of these plants.