Recent data suggest that fibronectin may favor Staphylococcus aureus infection by promoting attachment to either injured tissues or implanted foreign bodies. Using a previously described in vitro assay, we show that promotion of S. aureus adherence by surface-bound fibronectin, adsorbed on polymethylmethacrylate PMMA coverslips, is antagonized by antistaphylococcal antibodies present in immunoglobulin G (IgC) purified from human plasma. Among the different organisms tested, the protein A-deficient strain Wood 46 of S. aureus was the most strongly inhibited by purified IgC or whole serum dose-dependently. Bacterial adherence was not influenced by preincubating fibronectin-coated PMMA with either purified IgC or whole serum. However, inhibition of bacterial adherence was directly related to the extent of IgG binding to S. aureus Wood 46. When F(ab')2fragments of purified IgC were tested in the adherence assay, they could also reduce the interaction between S. aureus Wood 46 and fibronectin-coated PMMA. Two other staphylococcal strains were also tested in the adherence inhibition assay: Whereas the protein A-rich strain Cowan I of S. aureus was moderately inhibited by purified IgG or whole serum, S. epidermidis KH 11 was not at all inhibited by IgG which hind poorly to the bacterial cells. This study has demonstrated that bacterial coating by humoral factors, and specifically IgC, may influence significantly subsequent adherence of S. aureus to surface-bound fibronectin.