Plants are rich source of antibacterial agents because they produce wide array of bioactive molecules, most of which probably evolved as chemical defense against predation or infection. A major part of the total population in developing countries still uses traditional folk medicine obtained from plant resources with an estimation of WHO that as many as 80% of world population living in rural areas rely on herbal traditional medicines as their primary health care, the study on properties and uses of medicinal plants are getting growing interests. In recent years this interest to evaluate plants possessing antibacterial activity for various diseases is growing. Proteus spp. are part of the human intestinal flora and can cause infection upon leaving this location. They may also be transmitted through contaminated catheters (particularly urinary catheters) or by accidental parenteral inoculation. The specific mode of transmission, however, has not been identified. Antimicrobials of plant origin have enormous therapeutic potential and have been used since time immemorial. They have been proved effective in the treatment of infectious diseases simultaneously mitigating many of the side effects which are often associated with synthetic antibiotics. Many infectious diseases have been known to be treated with herbal remedies based on ethno-botanical knowledge. Natural products, either as pure compounds or as standardized plant extracts, provide unlimited opportunities for new drug leads because of the unmatched availability of chemical diversity. Therefore, researchers are increasingly turning their attention to folk medicine, looking for new leads to develop better drugs against microbial infections. Thus, it is anticipated that phytochemicals with adequate antibacterial efficacy will be used for the treatment of bacterial infections. The present antibacterial review of the plant extracts demonstrates that folk medicine can be as effective as modern medicine to combat pathogenic microorganisms. The millenarian use of these plants in folk medicine suggests that they represent an economic and safe alternative to treat infectious diseases. © 2016, International Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemical Research. All rights reserved.