An editorial discussing the mechanisms of bacterial resistance to biocides and antibiotics, and to what extent they are similar. The article concludes that increased resistance to antiseptics and disinfectants is not a clinical problem at present. The issue as to whether low-level resistance to disinfectants is a selection factor for antibiotic-resistant strains in the clinical and domestic settings has yet to be settled. Journal of Medical Microbiology 1999;48:613-615.