There are many antibiotic-resistant microbial pathogens that have emerged in recent years causing normal infections to become harder and sometimes impossible to treat. The major mechanisms of acquired resistance are the ability of the microorganisms to destroy or modify the drug, alter the drug target, reduce uptake or increase efflux of the drug and replace the metabolic step targeted by the drug. However, in recent years, resistant strains have been reported from almost every environment. New antimicrobial compounds are of major importance because of the growing problem of bacterial resistance, and antimicrobial peptides have been gaining a lot of interest. Their mechanism of action, however, is often obscure. Antimicrobial peptides are widespread and have a major role in innate immunity. An increasing number of peptides capable of inhibiting microbial growth are being reviewed here. In this article, we consider the possible use of antimicrobial peptides against pathogens. © 2014 Japan Antibiotics Research Association. All rights reserved.