Although common bean is a very important, high-value vegetable crop, and in Croatia there are favorable agroecological conditions for its cultivation, it is unjustifiably neglected and the market is dominated by imported common bean. The use of symbiotic nitrogen fixation can significantly contribute to environmentally friendly and economically viable common bean production. The aim of this study was to determine the symbiotic properties of different strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum in the agroecological area of Koprivnica-Križevci County. The study was conducted through a field experiment, and the experimental factors were R. leguminosarum strains (four indigenous strains, reference strain and control) and common bean cultivars ('Alida' and 'Marina'). During the experiment, the nodulation ability of strains, dry weight of plant, the number of pods per plant, the number of grains per pod and the grain yield of beans were determined. A statistically justified influence of cultivar on all investigated traits was determined. The cultivar 'Alida' is significantly better than the cultivar 'Marina' in all traits except in the number of grains per pod. The obtained results showed that all investigated strains were compatible with both common bean cultivars. The application of inoculants resulted in statistically justified differences in the number and dry weight of nodules, dry weight of plant and the grain yield of beans in relation to the non-bacterized control. Although the examined indigenous and reference strains do not differ significantly for most traits, relatively higher values were determined with the use of indigenous strains, with strain 1AT being singled out. The results of this study indicate a symbiotic potential of indigenous strains of R. leguminosarum. Further research of these strains is needed to select the best ones for pre-sowing inoculation of common bean.