Abstract: Specimens were collected from sick or dead chickens from 8 cities in northern Henan province. 63 suspected strains were purified and then identified by biochemical test as E. coli which was lethal to chickens by animal challenging test. The results of bacterial susceptibility experiments by the broth microdilution test indicated that the tested bacteria presented 33.3%，46%，63.5% and 98.4% resistance to cefquinome, ceftiofur, florfenicol and sarafloxacin, respectively. The resistant condition of the chicken E. coli to several newer veterinary drugs solely used in animals should not be neglected.

Key words: chicken; escherichia coli; resistance; cefquinome