Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare three surgical scrub methods-4% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) with brush, 4% CHG without brush, and waterless scrub using 1% CHG and 61% ethanol combination (alcohol-based agent)-for antimicrobial efficacy. Method: “Glove-juice technique” was used to evaluate microbial hand counts before surgical scrubs, 1 min and 3 hr after surgical scrubs. Result: Waterless scrub using CHG and ethanol combination resulted in a 4.8-log reduction at 1 min and 4.0-log reduction at 3 hr. CHG without brush resulted in a 4.7-log reduction at 1 min and 3.3-log reduction at 3 hr. The traditional scrub using CHG with brush resulted in a 3.6-log reduction at 1 min and 0.8-log reduction at 3 hr. The waterless scrub and CHG without brush showed significantly higher log reduction (p＜.05) than CHG with brush at 1 min and 3 hr after surgical scrub. Waterless scrub showed greater log reductions than CHG without brush, but there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Conclusion: Waterless scrub using alcohol-based agent showed more persistent and immediate antimicrobial efficacy than either CHG with brush or CHG without brush.