The ability of 20 natural isolates of three industrial ecotopes to separately use phenol, 2,4-, 2,5-dichlorophenols (2,4-DCP, 2,5-DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP), 4-chlorophenoxyacetic, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic (4-CPA, 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T) acids as the sole source of carbon and energy was analyzed. The most available substrate that could be used by all isolated isolates was phenol. When using chlorophenoxyacetic acids, there was a decrease in activity against 2,4,5-T compared with 4-CPA and 2,4-D: 18 strains could use 4-CPA and 2,4-D, and 16 - 2.4,5-T. 2,4,6-TCP, 2,4-DCP, and 2,5-DCP followed in order of increasing substrate complexity; they could be utilized by 11, 7, and 2 strains, respectively. Since dichlorophenols are more complex substrates for the studied cultures compared to 2,4,6-TCP, therefore, the position of chlorine substituents is more important than its number. Comparison of the ability of strains to grow on 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP allows us to conclude that the spatial structure of the substrate molecule is important, since the presence of chlorine in the 6th position facilitates the utilization of the chlorinated substrate. Primary screening showed that the studied strains were divided into 4 groups: 12 cultures belonged to the gamma subclass of Proteobacteria; 3 ‒ to the bacillary line of gram-positive bacteria, 2 ‒ to the beta subclass of proteobacteria; 3 ‒ to actinomycetes. Pseudomonas were the most numerous among the degraders of phenol and its chlorinated derivatives ‒ four strains, as well as three cultures each belonged to representatives of the genera Bacillus and Raoultella.