The antimicrobial susceptibilities of Staphylococcus isolated from clinical isolates and raw meats were tested for six different antimicrobial agents that are in widespread clinical use in Korea and four new antimicrobials, linezolid, quinupristin/dalfopristin, daptomycin, and tigecycline. And this study analyzed the mecA genes and genetic patterns of MRSA by performing epidemiological studies using the PCR method. 46%, 51%, and 79% of clinical isolates were identified as MRSA in 1998, 1999, and 2005, respectively, and the mecA gene was detected in 82% of these isolates. Of the 133 staphylococci isolated from raw meats, 18% of the isolates were found to be resistant to methicillin, but none of these isolates showed the presence of the mecA gene. New antimicrobials, which have rarely or not yet been used in Korean hospitals, showed high activity against all staphylococcal isolates including methicillinresistant isolates. The randomaly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) patterns of MRSA isolates differed significantly between clinical isolates and raw meat isolates.