Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the important causative microbes for nosocomial infection and has been isolated from the dental environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of linalool and ${alpha}$-terpineol against MRSA isolates from a Korean population. In the experiments, we determined the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of these two compounds against 18 strains of MRSA. The data revealed that the $MIC_{90}/MBC_{90}$ values of linalool and ${alpha}$-terpineol against MRSA were >12.8 mg/ml and 6.4 mg/ml, respectively. These results indicate that ${alpha}$-terpineol has more potent antimicrobial activity against MRSA than linalool and may have utility as an anti-MRSA cleansing agent for dental instruments and dental unit chairs.