Certain 7-acylamido-3-(1-carboxy-loweralkyl-tetrazol-5-ylthiomethyl)-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acids and their salts and easily hydrolyzed esters of the 4-carboxyl group were synthesized and found to be potent antibacterial agents which exhibited good aqueous solubility. In a preferred embodiment the 7-substituent was 2'-aminomethylphenylacetamido.