: The ability of microbes to counter the scientific and therapeutic advancements achieved
during the second half of the twentieth century to provide effective disease treatments is currently a
significant challenge for researchers in biology and medicine. The discovery of antibiotics, and the
subsequent development of synthetic antimicrobial compounds, altered our therapeutic approach
towards infectious diseases, and improved the quality and length of life for humans and other
organisms. The current alarming rise in cases of antibiotic-resistance has forced biomedical researchers
to explore new ways to recognize and/or produce new antimicrobials or to find other approaches
for existing therapeutics. Aquatic organisms are known to be a source of compounds having
the potential to play a role in fighting the battle against pathogenic microbes. In this connection,
cnidarians occupy a pre-eminent role. Over the past few decades several studies have explored
the antimicrobial/antibiotic properties of cnidarian extracts with the aim of isolating compounds
possessing useful therapeutic features. This paper aims to review the existing data on this subject,
taking into account the possible utilization of identified compounds.