The incidence of halophilic amine forming bacteria in fresh sardines was around 20%, which on salting reached a maximum level of 84% and finally decreased during the drying process. No amine forming bacteria were detected in salt-dried sardines after final drying. The critical stage for the survival of amine forming bacteria in salt-dried sardine was between salting and initial stage (first day) of drying. Micrococcus luteus dominated during the salting process, while Pseudomonas and Alcaligenes species were the major amine forming bacteria during the drying stage. The amine forming bacteria isolated from the salt-dried sardines were able to produce only cadaverine and putrescine. However, no histamine forming bacteria was detected in this study.