To investigate the change of bacterial load appl ied with iodophors and rivanol of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), furthermore to evaluate the effect of both in removing superficial microbes of DFUs. Methods From March 2006 to March 2007, 30 patients were randomly divided into control group (group A, n=10), iodophor group (group B, n=10) and rivanol group (group C, n=10). There were 18 males and 12 females with an average age of 59.8 years (range 46-78 years). The wound size ranged from 3 cm × 2 cm to 15 cm × 10 cm. The disease course was 6 weeks to 6 months (mean 2.1months). Each wound was debrided and irrigated before process, then drug was compressed on the wound for 5 minutes, and irrigated again. The samples gained for three times, before, immediately and 24 hours after the process. Each sample was diluted before cultivation, the bacteria of wound were counted and compared among 3 groups. Results The cultures of specimens showed that the load decreased in every group, each cultured colony of specimen grew well, and there were no significant differences between 3 groups immediately after procedure (P gt; 0.05). There were significant differences between group B and groups A, C (P lt; 0.05), but there were no significant difference between group A and group C 24 hours after treatment (P gt; 0.05). Conclusion Both iodophors and rivanol could remove the bacteria on the surface of wound. Topical germicide could reduced bacterial load in the wound of diabetic foot, the role of steril izing and bacteriostasis of iodophors were better than that of rivanol.