The in vitro activity of clinafloxacin was studied in comparison with ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, nalidixic acid, sparfloxacin and trovafloxacin against Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. Clinafloxacin showed a MIC(90) of 4 mg/L, whereas the remaining quinolones showed a MIC(90) equal to or higher than 16 mg/L. MIC(50) determination in the presence of reserpine resulted in a two-fold decrease, except for trovafloxacin, which decreased four-fold, and for moxifloxacin and nalidixic acid, which did not change. The effect of reserpine was most pronounced among strains with a low level of resistance to quinolones. The MIC of clinafloxacin for strains with no mutation in either gyrA or parC genes ranged from 0.008 to 0.25 mg/L. In strains with a single mutation at amino acid codon Ser83 of the gyrA gene, the MIC of clinafloxacin ranged from 0.12 to 1 mg/L, whereas strains with a double mutation, one in the gyrA gene and another in the parC gene, showed a range of MIC of clinafloxacin from 1 to 8 mg/L. Therefore, clinafloxacin shows good activity against strains carrying a single mutation in the gyrA gene, and hence a second mutation is required for the microorganism to express resistance.