A variety of pharmaceutical preparations, which are applied in the management of non-infectious diseases, have shown in vitro some antimicrobial activity. These drugs are called "non-antibiotics". The aim of this study was to detect and characterise the antimicrobial activity of non-antibiotic drugs. selected from the preparations analysed during state control performed at the Drug Institute in Poland. Over 160 pharmaceutical preparations were randomly chosen from different groups of drugs. The surveillance study was performed on standard ATCC microbial strains used for drug control: S aureus, E. coil, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans. It was shown that the drugs listed below inhibited growth of at least one of the examined strains:acyclovir (Awirol 5%, cream), alendronate (Alenato 5 mg, tabl.), alverine (Meteospasmyl 20 mg, caps.), butorphanole (Butamidor 10 mg/ml, amp.), clodronate (Sindronat 400 mg, caps), diclofenac (Olfen 75 mg, amp.), emadastine (Emadine 0.05%, eye dr.), etodolac (Febret 200 mg, caps.), fluvastatine (Lescol 40 mg, tabl.), ketamine (Ketamidor 10%, amp.), levocabastine (Histimet 0.5 mg/ml, eye dr.), losartan (Lorista 50 mg, tabl.), matipranolol (Betaman 0.3% eye dr.), mesalazine (Pentasa 1%, susp.), naproxen (Nalgesin 550 mg, tabl.), oxaprosine (Reumax 600 mg, tabl.), oxymethazoline (Nasivin 0.025%, nose dr.), proxymetacaine (Alcaine 0.5%, eye dr.), ribavirin (Rebetol 200 mg, caps.), rutoside with ascorbic acid (Cerutin 20+200 mg, tabl.), sulodexide (Vessel due F, 250 LSU, caps.), tegaserole (Zelmac 50 mg, tabl.), telmisartan (Pritor 20 mg, tabl.), temosolomide (Temodal 100 mg, caps.), ticlopidine (Ticlid 250 mg, tabl.), tolfenamic acid (Migea rapid 200 mg, tabl.), tramadole (Tramundin 100 mg, tabl.), tropicamide (Tropicamidum 1%, eye dr.). Staphylococcus aureus was susceptible to most of the drugs listed above. Ticlopidine showed activity against S. aureus, E. coli and C. albicans (MICs equal to: 0.45; 0.45 and 0.65 mg/ml, respectively). Oxymetazoline showed activity against S. aureus and E. coli (MICs: 0.005 and 0.025 mg/ml, respectively). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was sensitive to alendronate, clondronate, oxaprozine, ribavirin and tramadole (MICs: 10, 63, 60, 3 and 43 mg/ml, respectively).