The antimicrobial activities of telavancin and six comparators were evaluated against 460 isolates of anaerobic bacteria. Telavancin demonstrated excellent activity against gram-positive anaerobes (MIC90, 2 microg/ml) and was the most potent agent tested against Clostridium difficile (MIC90, 0.25 microg/ml). As expected, gram-negative isolates were not inhibited by telavancin.