INTRODUCTION: Isolation of Staphylococcus aureus and phenotypic characterization of MRSA. A total of 545 isolates were studied. The MRSA strains were classified as MRSA based on their resistance to penicillins and cephalosporins of the beta-lactum group of antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important human pathogen associated with nosocomial and community-acquired infections. METHODS: A total of 545 MRSA isolates were isolated and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was performed by the Kirby-Bauer diffusion method using cefoxitin. RESULTS: The AST revealed that vancomycin had a sensitivity of 100%, followed by teicoplanin (93.57%) and linezolid (89.17%). The least sensitive was erythromycin (12.84%), followed by azithromycin (20%), trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin (34.49%), gentamicin (36.88%), chloramphenicol (38.16%) and amikacin (38.34%). CONCLUSION: Cefoxitin disc diffusion is rapid, simple and inexpensive and can therefore be routinely used for the detection of MRSA.