This study deals with the potentiality of salicylic (SA) and benzoic (BA) acids for controlling the common blight of beans (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Xap). Impacts of the application of SA and BA (1.2 µg mL− 1) on the plant biological parameters, bacterial count, disease severity, phenolic and salicylic acid contents as well as catalase activity in treated plants were investigated. In vitro, application of the both compounds at different concentrations (0.4, 0.8 and 1.2 µg mL− 1) significantly suppressed growth of the pathogen. Under greenhouse conditions, application of BA and SA considerably reduced the disease development by 81 and 71%, respectively after 4 days of the application as compared to infected control. After 12 days of BA application, plants were protected 49.2% from disease as compared with SA (44.6%). SA-treated plants showed significant increases in the SA content and