Dyeing properties of rosemary colorants on cotton fabrics were investigated. Effect of dyeing conditions on dye uptake and effect of mordanting and cationizing on dye uptake, color change and colorfastness were explored. Also, antimicrobial activity of rosemary colorants was ascertained and further effect of cationizing on antimicrobial activity was investigated. Affinity of rosemary colorants to cotton fiber was considerably low, and its isotherm adsorption curve was Freundlich type, indicating that hydrogen bonding was involved in the adsorption of rosemary colorants to cotton fiber. The cotton fabrics showed generally high colorfastness except fastness to washing and light. The cationized cotton with Cationon UK(quarterly ammonium salt) showed higher dye uptake and shorter dyeing time, compared with the untreated cotton. The cationized cotton showed good colorfastness to washing, perspiration and rubbing. Antimicrobial activity of rosemary colorfastness was confirmed. The cationized cotton itself showed high bacterial reduction rate. For cationized and dyed samples, as dye uptake increased, bacterial reduction rate was decreased slightly.