The authors studied the local treatment of burns in 11045 cases: 6063 (54.9%) were treated without topical antibacterials and 4985 (45.1%) with antibacterial agents. In 62.1% of cases the topical antibacterial treatment was done mainly in the hospital ward (69.5%) while the treatment without topical medication was mostly performed in the operating room. The use of topical antibacterials was studied during eight years, from 1985 to 1992. In the earlier periods the justifications were not related to burn wound sepsis. In the recent years the topical antibacterials were used chiefly for the treatment and prophylaxis of wound infection (96.8% of cases).