A total of 542 clinical isolates of aerobic Gram-negative bacilli from intra-abdominal infections were collected during 2008 from seven hospitals in India participating in the Study for Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance Trends (SMART). Isolates were from various infection sources, the most common being gall bladder (30.1 %) and peritoneal fluid (31.5 %), and were mostly hospital-associated isolates (70.8 %) as compared to community-acquired (26.9 %). The most frequently isolated pathogens were Escherichia coli (62.7 %), Klebsiella pneumoniae (16.7 %) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.3 %). Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) rates in E. coli and K. pneumoniae were very high, at 67 % and 55 %, respectively. Most isolates exhibited resistance to one or more antibiotics. The most active drugs were generally ertapenem, imipenem and amikacin. However, hospital-acquired isolates in general, as well as ESBL-positive isolates, exhibited lower susceptibilities than community-acquired isolates. Further surveillance monitoring of intra-abdominal isolates from India is recommended.