The efficiency of extraction of hydrogen bacteria from soil for plate counting was evaluated by using pure cultures adsorbed to sterilized soil. The utilization of model materials which interact with bacteria by adhesive, capillary or electrostatic forces and the use of extraction fluids with buffering, detergent or chelating activity demonstrated the major importance of capillary forces for the retention of hydrogen bacteria. Utilization of Tris buffer (pH 7.5) as extraction fluid and separation of extracted bacteria from soil particles by sedimentation for 15 min resulted in the highest recovery. A second extraction step including sonication did not increase the efficiency. The extraction efficiency of 8 different strains of hydrogen bacteria adsorbed to 3 different soils demonstrated a high degree of variation wih respect to bacterial strains, but not to soil types. The recovery was inversely related to cell parameters such as size, motility and slime formation.