The influence of basic discharge parameters on the efficiency of bacterial decontamination in liquids has been studied. The experiments have been carried out with a voltage of 40 kV, a pulse repetition rate of 0.1-40 Hz, and a pulse energy of 3-10 J, The pulses were applied to electrodes located in a water-filled cell. The suspension contained staphilococci or E. coli with a concentration of 10(5)-10(8) per mi, At 10 J/ml energy input, the bacterial decontamination efficiency was found to be 100%. Even at low -2.5 J/ml energy density, the efficiency of removing the bacteria was still more than 94%.