The in-vitro activity of three fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, temafloxacin) against 200 well-defined clinical isolates of staphylococci was investigated. The in-vitro activity of the fluoroquinolones tested was equal, with a strong indication of cross resistance. A clear distribution over two populations of different quinolone susceptibility--"naturally susceptible" and "naturally resistant" strains--could be found in penicillin-resistant, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus.