The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of Z. clinopodioides subsp. rigida (BOISS.) RECH. f. was analysed by GC and GC-MS. Thirty-one constituents accounting to 99.5% of the total oil were identified. Oxygenated monoterpenes (93.3%) were the predominant portion of the oil with pulegone (45.8%), piperitenone (17.4%), p-menth-3-en-8-ol (12.5%) and thymol (8.0%) as the main constituents. Antibacterial activity of the oil and its two main compounds and various extracts of plant were tested against seven Gram-(+) or Gram-(-) bacteria. It was found that the oil and MeOH extract (M) exhibited interesting antibacterial activity. The samples were also subjected to screening for their possible antioxidant activity by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrazylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The free radical scavenging activity of MeOH extract (M) was superior to all other extracts (IC50=30.7 microg/ml), while the oil was less effective.