The in-vitro activity of sparfloxacin (AT-4140), a new difluorinated quinolone, was compared with those of ciprofloxacin, temafloxacin and selected members of other groups of antimicrobial agents, against 651 recent distinct clinical isolates and strains with known mechanisms of resistance. Three strains of Chlamydia trachomatis were also studied. The MICs for 90% of the Enterobacteriaceae were between 0.06 and 1 mg/l; for Pseudomonas aeruginosa the MIC90 was 2 mg/l. Sparfloxacin was 16-fold more active against Acinetobacter spp. than ciprofloxacin. For Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus, spp. and Enterococcus faecalis the MIC90 was between 0.25 and 1 mg/l; sparfloxacin was four-fold more active against Str. pneumoniae than ciprofloxacin. Ninety percent of strains of Haemophilus influenzae, Branhamella catarrhalis and Neisseria spp. were inhibited by less than 0.03 mg/l; for Bacteroides fragilis the MIC90 was 1 mg/l. The three strains of Chl. trachomatis were susceptible to 0.06-0.12 mg/l sparfloxacin, which was 16-fold more active than ciprofloxacin. There was cross resistance among the quinolones, but not between the quinolones and other groups of antimicrobials. The protein binding of sparfloxacin was 40% and serum had little effect on its activity.