The present study describes the nematicidal activity of ten selected phenolic derivatives using the root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, model. Nematicidal activity was then correlated with the anti-oxidant power. The highest nematicidal activity was recorded for p-nitrophenol followed by m-nitrophenol, o-nitrophenol and p-bromophenol, with an EC50 after 1 day of immersion of about 0.70 ± 0.64, 8.14 ± 5.49, 15.79 ± 10.81 and 25.92 ± 11.37 μg/ml, respectively. The structure-activity relationship indicates that the nitro-group at position 4 on the phenolic ring (p-nitrophenol) is very important for nematicidal activity, followed by that at position 2 (o-nitrophenol) and position 3 (m-nitrophenol). p-Nitrophenol showed the highest nematicidal activity with the corresponding lowest anti-oxidant activity of about 97 ± 20 μg/ml. In conclusion, these findings suggest that phenolic derivatives could be considered as potent nematicidal agents and be integrated in the pest-management system.