This study examined the penetration of aztreonam into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain in noninfected rabbits and rabbits with experimental meningitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Animals received either 600 or 1,200 mg of aztreonam administered intravenously over 6 h. Aztreonam did not readily enter the CSF in the absence of meningitis. In noninfected animals, mean concentrations in the CSF ranged from 1.1 to 3.0 micrograms/ml with the 600-mg dose and from 2.3 to 4.7 micrograms/ml with the 1,200-mg dose. In contrast, mean concentrations of aztreonam in the CSF were significantly higher (P less than 0.01) at each sampling time in rabbits with experimental meningitis caused by P. aeruginosa. They ranged from 10.2 to 14.6 micrograms/ml with the 600-mg dose and from 29 to 40 micrograms/ml with the 1,200-mg dose. Although concentrations in the brain measured at 6 h tended to be higher in infected rabbits, this difference was not statistically significant. Aztreonam therapy produced a substantial decline in CSF bacterium counts over 6 h: mean CSF counts decreased 2.4 log10 CFU/ml in the 600-mg dose group and 3.0 log10 CFU/ml in the 1,200-mg dose group. The results of this study suggest that aztreonam may be useful in the therapy of meningitis caused by P. aeruginosa.