Objective To study the adherence activity of six representative periodontopathic and cariogenic bacteria to hydroxyapatite disks. Methods Six periodontopathic and cariogenic bacteria of P. gingivalis, A.actinomycetemcomitans, F. nucleatum, S. sanguis, A. viscosus and S. mutans were cultured in modified MD-300 chemostat according to total fifteen experimental groups of single-specie and each pair of periodontal pathogens and cariogenic bacteria, respectively. After 1h attached live bacteria on removable hydroxyapatite disks was analyzed by culture technologies to evaluate the adherence level. Results The adherence activity of periodontopathic and cariogenic bacteria to HA was in the following order: S. sanguis ＞ A. viscosus ＞ S. mutans ＞ A. actinomycetemcomitans ＞ F. nucleatum ＞ P. gingivalis. The number of periodontopathic bacteria to HA was enhanced by S.sanguis and A. viscosus, respectively. When mix-cultivated with S. mutans, the colonization of P. gingivalis was reduced significantly( P＜0.001 ). Periodontopathic bacteria had no effect on the adherence activity of S. mutans and A. viscosus, except S. sanguis. Conclusion It was showed that the adherence activity of periodontal pathogens was weaker than that of cariogenic bacteria and emphasized the importance of bacterial adherence in determining the level of bacterial colonization on tooth surfaces. It was suggested that periodontopathic bacteria can utilize initial colonizers to become those predominant bacteria in periodontal ecosystem, which maybe have close relation to the periodontopathic mechanism.