A series of 2-phenylbenzothiazoles has been synthesized either by i) condensation of different aromatic aldehydes with 2-aminothiophenol or ii) condensation of N-(2-chlorophenyl)benzothioamides in KOH catalyzed by potassium fericyanide. The structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, MS, and (1)H-NMR. The results of biological activity screening showed that six compounds including 2-phenylbenzothiazol (1a), 2-(2-chlorophenyl)benzothiazole (1b), 2-(3-chlorophenyl)benzothiazole (1c), 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (1e), 2-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)benzothiazole (1h) and 2-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl)benzothiazole (1i) exhibited significant antibacterial activities; two compounds (1a, 1e) exhibited antifungal activities. Especially, 1e showed considerable antimicrobial activity against both A. niger and F. oxysporum. The brominated derivative of 1e displayed extended spectrum against all four bacterial strains tested with lower MIC values. In vitro cytotoxicity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated on three cancer cell lines (A549, HT1080, MCF7-MDR). The results indicated that three compounds (1e, 1g, 1i) exhibited significant cytotoxic activity on A549 and MCF7-ADR cells (IC(50), 10.07-13.21 μg/ml). Brominated and nitrated derivatives (1k, 1l, respectively) of 1e exhibited even more potent cytotoxicity.