Ten clinical isolates and the type strain (H37Rv) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were shown to produce an intracellular beta-lactamase. Crude enzyme preparations were extracted from acetone cell powders by grinding with zirconium beads in 0.133 M glycine with 1.0% Triton X-100. The enzymes had identical patterns on isoelectric focusing, with two major bands at isoelectric points of 4.9 and 5.1. The beta-lactamase was highly susceptible to the new beta-lactamase inhibitor BRL 42715, with an I50 of 0.0001 microgram/ml. The enzyme was also susceptible to clavulanic acid with an I50 (0.05 microgram/ml), which was similar to the value for the common bacterial beta-lactamase TEM-1 (0.01 microgram/ml). The latter result is consistent with previous MIC studies with M. tuberculosis, which have shown synergy between clavulanic acid and amoxicillin. BRL 42715 and clavulanic acid were more active than sulbactam, tazobactam, and cloxacillin. These studies support the potential value of penicillin/clavulanic acid and penicillin/BRL 42715 combinations in the treatment of tuberculosis.