This study reports the antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pyogenes isolated from patients in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. 672 non-duplicate isolates were recovered from May 2006 to May 2007. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using the E-test and interpreted according to EUCAST guidelines. Among 236 S. pneumoniae, 47% were penicillin non-susceptible (PNSP) with 3% of strains being highly resistant; 20.4% and 17.4% had decreased susceptibility to amoxicillin and cefotaxime, respectively. Dual resistance to penicillin and erythromycin was observed in 30.1%. All isolates were susceptible to levofloxacin except one. Among 262 H. influenzae, 13.3% were amoxicillin-resistant and beta-lactamase producers. Two isolates were beta-lactamase-positive and amoxicillin-clavulanate-resistant. All isolates were susceptible to cefixime, cefotaxime and levofloxacin. All S. pyogenes (174) were susceptible to beta-lactams with 5.7% resistant to erythromycin. Five had decreased susceptibility to levofloxacin. These data on respiratory tract pathogens indicate the high prevalence of PNSP in North African countries.