It has good antibacterial effect on Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Proteus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella, Citrobacter and other Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis are highly sensitive to it. It also has good effect on various groups of streptococci and pneumococci, and only has moderate effect on Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-sensitive strains). It has good effect on most Gram-positive anaerobes and some Gram-negative anaerobes. It mainly inhibits the synthesis of bacterial cell walls.

It has a weak antibacterial effect itself and is a competitive, irreversible beta-lactamase inhibitor. When used in combination with cefoperazone, it can increase the ability of cefoperazone to resist degradation by various beta-lactamases and produce a significant synergistic effect on cefoperazone.