Key words: traditional medicine, medicinal plants, antimicrobial activities, anti-inflammatoryrntest, skin sensitization test, topical formulations.rnThe majority of the populations in the developing world rely on traditional medicine for theirrnprimary healthcare needs. Herbal therapy predominates in traditional medical practices as well asrnin complimentary/alternative medicine practiced in the developed world. Among the indicationsrnwhere traditional herbal medicines are used, skin and skin related disorders, which also happen tornbe common diseases in the communities, rank among the top. This study had the objective ofrnevaluating the extracts of four medicinal plants traditionally used for skin diseases, namely Inularnconfertiflora, Clematis simensis, Zehneria scabra and Pycnostachys abyssinica, for some of theirrnclaimed activities by both in vitro and in vivo methods.rnThe 80 % methanol extract of the dried, ground plant materials was prepared. The plant extractsrnwere then tested for antimicrobial activity against common bacterial and fungal pathogens by thernagar well diffusion method. Furthermore, the 80% methanol extract of I. confertiflora wasrnsubjected to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination, in vivo studies such as antiinflammatoryrnand skin sensitization tests as well as in vitro tests such as preliminary screeningrnfor the presence of some plant constituents, TLC analysis, and evaluation of topical antimicrobialrnformulations of the plant extracts.rnThe results of the study indicated all of the plant extracts to exhibit antimicrobial activitiesrnagainst one of the most common bacterial pathogens, namely Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC).rnxrnAlthough these activities were not impressive especially as compared to the positive control used,rnthey lend some credibility to the traditional uses of the plants. Good antifungal activity wasrndemonstrated by one of the plant extracts (I. confertiflora) against Trichophyton mentagrophytes,rnwhich was further corroborated by the agar dilution method. I. confertiflora (80% methanol)rnextract proved to exert a good anti-inflammatory activity at a dose of 1000 mg/kg but not at arnlower dose (500 mg/ml) in the carrageenan-induced paw edema test. These activities support therntraditional use of this plant. Furthermore, the 80% methanol extract of I. confertiflora, was notrnfound to be a skin sensitizer in the mouse ear swelling test as opposed to its petroleum etherrncounterpart, which demonstrated a strong sensitizing property. Some secondary metabolites suchrnas sesquiterpene lactones and flavonoids were detected, which may be responsible for some ofrnthe demonstrated pharmacological activities of this plant. Evaluation of topical formulations ofrnthe 80% methanol extract of I. confertiflora demonstrated that the hydrophilic formulationsrnexhibited higher antimicrobial activities compared to the lipophilic formulations. The activity ofrnthe hydrophilic formulations against T. mentagrophytes was comparable to the commerciallyrnavailable antifungal products tested. These bases could thus be used as a starting point for furtherrnformulation studies.