We studied the activities of the new fluoroquinolones clinafloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, and sparfloxacin alone or in combination on the intracellular growth of Listeria monocytogenes. Against intracellular growth of the four strains tested, a similar reduction of the bacterial count was obtained with clinafloxacin at the dose of 10 x MIC (delta log10 CFU/ml = -2.19 +/- 0.24), with levofloxacin at 8 x MIC (delta log10 CFU/ml = -2.28 +/- 0.25), and with sparfloxacin at 4 x MIC (delta log10 CFU/ml = -2.16 +/- 0.21) after 24 h of incubation. The combination of the quinolones with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or amoxicillin did not show a substantial increase in activity compared to the fluoroquinolone alone. Antagonism with rifampin was strongly suggested. No modification of the MIC was observed after 20 successive infections of HeLa cells and contact with subinhibitory concentrations of clinafloxacin, levofloxacin, and sparfloxacin for 24 h. We conclude that clinafloxacin, levofloxacin, or sparfloxacin could represent a therapeutic alternative to amoxicillin for the treatment of Listeria infections in adults, especially clinafloxacin, whose MIC is low (0.06 to 0.12 micrograms/ml), and whose best activity against intracellular L. monocytogenes was obtained at a concentration of 1.2 micrograms/ml, which is similar to clinically achievable levels. The results must be confirmed in an experimental model.