Cefoperazone (T-1551, CFP) a new semisynthetic cephalosporin, has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. We investigated the affinity of CFP to penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) and the inhibition of peptidoglycan synthesis by CFP. CFP had high affinities for Escherichia coli PBP-3, -1Bs, -2, and -1A, in descending order, and low affinities for PBP-4, -5, and -6. Similarly, CFP showed high affinity for Pseudomonas aeruginosa PBP-3, -1A, -1B, -2, and -4, in descending order. It is known that E. coli PBP-3 and P. aeruginosa PBP-3 participate in cell division. These results are in good agreement with the formation of filamentous cells of E. coli and P. aeruginosa treated with CFP. CFP had lower inhibitory activities on D-alanine carboxypeptidase IA and IB of E. coli than that of penicillin G, but its inhibitory activities on the cross-link formation in peptidoglycan synthesis were the same as those of penicillin G and higher than those of ampicillin.