The following Schiff bases have been synthesized: (1) 4-[(2-chlorobenzylidene)amino]benzoic acid [JP1], (2) 4-[(furan-2-ylmethylene)amino]benzoic acid [JP2], (3) 4-[(3-phenylallylidene)amino]benzoic acid [JP3], (4) 4-[(2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino]benzoic acid [JP4], (5) 4-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)amino]benzoic acid [JP5] and (6) 4-[(3-nitrobenzylidene)amino]benzoic acid [JP6].They were screened as potential antibacterial agents against a number of medically important bacterial strains. The antibacterial activity was studied against A. faecalis ATCC 8750, E. aerogenes ATCC 13048, E. coli ATCC 25922, K. pneumoniae NCIM 2719, S. aureus ATCC 25923, P. vulgaris NCIM 8313, P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and S. typhimurium ATCC 23564. The antibacterial activity was evaluated using the Agar Ditch method. The solvents used were 1,4-dioxane and dimethyl sulfoxide. Different effects of the compounds were found in the bacterial strains investigated and the solvents used, suggesting, once again, that the antibacterial activity is dependent on the molecular structure of the compound, the solvent used and the bacterial strain under consideration. In the present work, 1,4-dioxane proved to be a good solvent in inhibiting the above stated bacterial strains.