Different concentrations (50, 100, 150 microg/mL) of the methanol extract of the roots of Asparagus racemosus Willd. showed considerable in vitro antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. The effects produced by the methanol extract were compared with chloramphenicol.