Synthetic water-based metal-cutting fluids are increasingly popular in the metal-working industry because of its environmental friendliness. However, the fluids have the problem to be decomposed by microbes with use. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the stabilities of the fluids against microbes for the excellent fluids. The purpose of this study is to investigate the biodegradability of several lubricating agents used to improve anti-wear property of the fluids. From the study, it was found that there existed some difference on the biodegradability against microbes such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae depended on the structure of the lubricating agents and pH of the fluids.