en Original Article <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Background:</strong> Methicillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (MRSA) is resistant to most antibiotics and is an important pathogen of nosocomial infections. The prevalence of community (CA-MRSA) and hospital acquired methicillin-resistant <em>S. aureus</em> (HA-MRSA) infection is increased. In this study we investigated the frequency of MRSA colonization and its antibiotic susceptibility in students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Materials and </strong><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 200 nursing, midwifery and paramedical students. Nasal swabs were taken from all cases and were cultured on a blood medium agar. Methicillin resistance was confirmed using Oxacillin and cefoxcitin disks. Inducible clinadamycin resistance was identified using D-zone test. Demographic and specific information were collected by questionnaire<span dir="RTL">.</span> Data were analyzed by chi-square test.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Results: </strong>Among 200 studied cases, the frequency of nasal carriers for <em>S. aureus</em> was 5%. Six (60%) out of 10 <em>S. aureus</em> isolates were MRSA strains. Fifty percent of MRSA and 25% of methicillin-susceptible <em>S. aureus</em> (MSSA) were resistant to clindamycin. Four out of 6 strains of MRSA and 1 of the MSSA strains were resistant to erythromycin and D test was positive in 50% of cases.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Nasal carriers of the resistant strains of <em>S. aureus</em> are always a serious threat to themselves and others. The rate of MRSA colonization, especially clindamycin-resistant strains, was high among studied cases, emphesizing the need for screening <em>S. aureus</em>.</span></p> Staphylococcus aureus,Antibiotic,Students, 83 88 http://johe.rums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-151-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 F Mohseni Moghadam dmt_330@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011533 22400319475328460011533 No Facully Member, Dept. of Basic science, Paramedical Faculty, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan , Iran. Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences M Tashakori m_tashakori44@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011534 22400319475328460011534 No Dept. of Basic Science, Paramedical Faculty ,Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences B Shahidi Zandi Shahidi Zandi@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011535 22400319475328460011535 No Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences M Hadavi hadavimaryam@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011536 22400319475328460011536 Yes Dept. of Anesthesiology, Paramedical Faculty, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences E Ranjbar E_ranjbar@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011537 22400319475328460011537 No Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Sh Shahidi Zandi S_Shahidi Zandi@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011538 22400319475328460011538 No Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. Kerman University of Medical Sciences