Chromobacterium violaceum is an unusual cause of infection which may have fatality rates of over 60% when systemic illness occurs. We describe four patients infected with this organism who were successfully treated at Royal Darwin Hospital between 1991 and 1996. In tropical Australia, C. violaceum infection should be considered along with melioidosis in patients who present with a septic illness with skin lesions and/or organ abscesses after exposure to soil in the wet season.