We studied in details the ammonia or free amino acids (AA) effects on proteolytic activity of three ruminal bacteria: enzymatic activities and protein breakdown products were measured at the end of the exponential growth phase. In Streptococcus bovis the simultaneous uptake of ammonia and probably small peptides induced a decline in total proteolytic activity as a result of changes in endopeptidasic activities. With free AA, the tendency for the endopeptidasic activities to specialise was more evident and the total proteolytic activity decreased too. In Prevotella albensis, the inhibition of proteolysis with free AA was linked to the disappearance of free endopeptidases, to the specialization of cell-associated endopeptidases and to the decrease in exopeptidases. The decrease of proteolysis in P. albensis when ammonia was added was more difficult to interpret. With ammonia or AA Butyrivibro fibrisolvens developed a distinct behavior of those expressed by the other species: the increase of the total proteolytic activity could be explained by a better balance of the endopeptidases expressed. It then clearly appeared that the expression of the proteolytic activities are linked to the nature and/or to the quantity of the nitrogen source. This leads each species to adopt its own nutritional strategy in order to adapt to the environmental conditions of the ruminal ecosystem.