The Enterobacter cloacae CYS-25 strain isolated from a chromate plant shows a strong capability for chromate resistance instead of chromate reduction in aerobic conditions. In this study, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used for studying the morphology characteristics of bacterial properties during the chromate resistance process. The average length of E. cloacae bacteria in the stationary phase is about 2.3 +/- 0.6 mu m, while under the stimulation of 400 mg/L CrO42-, the length of bacteria increases to 3.2 +/- 0.7 mu m. Height and phase images showed that, with the addition of CrO42-, the smooth surface of bacteria changed into one with discontinuous features with characteristic dimension of 40-200 nm. Analysis reveals that these compact convex patches are organic components stimulated by CrO42-. A chromate resistance mechanism relating to the overexpression of extracellular biologic components for preventing the permeability of CrO42- into the cell is proposed as the survival strategy of E. cloacae in chromate situation.