Antioxidant capacity (AOC) against peroxyl radical and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical cation was measured for a series of p-hydroxybenzoic (HB) and p-hydroxycinnamic (HC) acids at different pH. Quantum-chemical computation was performed using Gaussian 3.0 software package to calculate the geometry and energy parameters of the same compounds. Significant correlations were revealed between AOC and a number of calculated parameters. The most significant AOC descriptors for the studied compounds against peroxyl radical were found to be HOMO energy, rigidity (eta) and Mulliken charge on the carbon atom in m-position to the phenolic hydroxyl. The most significant descriptor of the antioxidant properties against the ABTS radical cation at pH 7.40 is electron transfer enthalpy from the phenolate ion. The mechanism of AOC realization has been proposed for HB and HC acids against both radicals.