The purpose of the study was to determine the in vitro activity of ABT-492 compared with that of other antimicrobial agents against anaerobic bacteria. The activity of ABT-492 was investigated against 369 clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria by the agar dilution method and was compared with that of moxifloxacin, piperacillin, cefoxitin, imipenem, clindamycin and metronidazole. ABT-492 and imipenem were the most active antimicrobial agents tested.