Objectives - We report the results of a regional survey on the resistance of S. pneumoniae strains to antibiotics.Method - From April 1997 to April 1998, 20 microbiology laboratories in Limousin collected 343 S. pneumoniae strains, isolated from various clinical samples (blood cultures, pulmonary samples, cerebrospinal fluid, otitis). Susceptibility to penicillin was tested (oxacillin disks and MIC).Results - The global prevalence of penicillin resistant S. pneumoniae was 39.9%. This prevalence was higher in children (49%) than in adults (33%). The percentage of penicillin resistant strains was higher in non-invasive isolates (36.4%) than in invasive isolates (24%). We notice the predominance of low-level resistant strains (0.06 < MIC < 1 mg/L). No strain with a high-level resistance to amoxicillin or cefotaxime was isolated. High resistance to other antibiotics was often combined with resistance to penicillin (70% to erythromycin and trimethoprim-sulfametoxazole, 50% to cyclines). Among penicillin resistant S. pneumoniae, the most prevalent serogroups or serotypes were 23, 14, 9, 19, 6, and 15. (C) 1999 Elsevier Paris.