Swiss-type cheeses such as Emmental are characterized by the successive development of thermophilic lactic acid bacteria (TLAB) and propionibacteria. The aim of this study was to determine whether the choice of TLAB strain influenced propionibacteria. TLAB and propionibacteria were cultured sequentially under the conditions prevailing in cheese. Firstly, 11 Emmental juice-like media were prepared by fermenting casein-enriched milk with pure or mixed cultures of TLAB (Lactobacillus helveticus, Lb. delbrueckii subsp. lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus), differing in their proteolytic activities. TLAB cells were then removed by microfiltration. Finally, five strains of Propionibacterium freudenreichii were grown on these media at 24°C under anaerobiosis and their growth characteristics and lactate consumption determined. The media mainly differed in their contents of peptides (1·9–5·3 g/kg) and free amino acids (1·0–5·6 g/kg) and the proportions of lactate isomers (42–92% of the L(+) isomer). Propionibacteria were significantly (P<0·05) influenced by TLAB strains (differences in doubling times of up to 20% and differences in lactate consumption after 600 h culture of up to 52%). The influence of TLAB was similar for all the propionibacteria tested, depended on the TLAB strains and could not be generalized to the TLAB species. Propionibacteria were stimulated by high peptide levels, low levels of free amino acids and NaCl, a low proportion of L(+)-lactate and other undetermined factors. However, variations due to TLAB were less than those between propionibacteria strains.