The activity of telavancin and comparators was assessed against a contemporary (2007 and 2008) global collection of 10,000 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. Telavancin was very active against methicillin-susceptible and -resistant S. aureus (MSSA and MRSA, respectively; MIC(50/90) for both, 0.12/0.25 microg/ml; 100.0% susceptible). This agent was 2-, 4-, and 8-fold more potent than daptomycin (MIC(90), 0.5 microg/ml), vancomycin or quinupristin-dalfopristin (MIC(90), 1 microg/ml), and linezolid (MIC(90), 2 microg/ml) against MRSA, respectively. These data show a potent activity of telavancin tested against a current global collection of S. aureus.