In order to promote Congolese folk medicine, which has been proven to be a viable alternative for our population confronted with health problems due especially to the lack of easy access to primary care and considering the multiplicity of diseases which daily torment them, a survey of the antibacterial activity of three medicinal plants used in herbal medicine by the healers in the city of Lubumbashi has been carried out. Tests of sensitivity of the microbes towards the plant extracts have been achieved in order to search for their therapeutic efficiency since according to the ethnobotanical information, they are used against many diseases. After analysis, the results showed that, as far as their inhibitory capacity on the microbes is concerned, the three plants (Terminalia mollis, Diospyros batocana  andAntidesma venosum) were bioactive. Proteus mirabilis is the microbe more sensitive to the extracts of T. mollis whereas Salmonella typhii showed greater sensitivity to extracts of D. batocana and A. venosum. Concerning Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumoniae, no sensitivity was observed towards extracts of A. venosum.

Key words: Antibacterial activity, medicinal plants, microbe sensitivity.