The species Salix alba L. and Salix purpurea L. are medicinal herbs, frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry. This study performs phytochemical and antibacterial analysis of ethanolic extracts from the bark of these two species. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses were performed by thin-layer chromatography identifying the salicin and salicylic acid; the salicin content was assessed by high performance liquid chromatography. The bark extracts yielded 4.300 μg/ml-1 salicin for Salix alba and 1.167 μg/ml-1 salicin for Salix purpurea. The plant extracts were tested on Gram negative and positive bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus). Both tested strains showed a mild resistance, but S. aureus showed slightly higher inhibition by all extract samples.