In a study carried out to determine the effect of oil pollution on the microbiota of sediment associated with mangroves in the United Arab Emirates, sediment samples were collected from oil-polluted and nonpolluted mangrove sites. The levels of the total recoverable hydrocarbons and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons assayed were noticeably higher in the polluted sediment. Microbial activity as measured by the hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate and by the total populations of the culturable aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, streptomycete and non-streptomycete actinomycetes, and filamentous fungi and yeasts was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in the polluted than in the nonpolluted sediment. The estimated total aerobic and anaerobic hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the polluted than in the nonpolluted sediments. Four days after the addition of the water-soluble fractions of the light Arabian crude oil to the nonpolluted sediment, at 10 different concentrations, there was a significant (P < 0.05) reduction (65%) in the microbial activity of the sediment compared with that of nonamended sediment. Concentrations of water-soluble fractions at 0.1% and above significantly and progressively reduced microbial activity, with total cessation of activity recorded at levels >50%. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of oil pollution on aerobic and anaerobic microbial flora of sediment of mangrove communities.Key words: crude oil, fluorescein diacetate, anaerobic bacteria, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, United Arab Emirates.