Acetic acid was used topically at concentrations of between 0.5% and 5% to eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the burn wounds or soft tissue wounds of 16 patients. In-vitro studies indicated the susceptibility of P. aeruginosa to acetic acid; all strains exhibited a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2 per cent. P. aeruginosa was eliminated from the wounds of 14 of the 16 patients within two weeks of treatment. Acetic acid was shown to be an inexpensive and efficient agent for the elimination of P. aeruginosa from burn and soft tissue wounds.