An antiseptic cleansing composition comprising an antimicrobial agent, an effective amount of an alkylpolysaccharide surfactant, at least one alkyl alcohol and at least one aryl alcohol. Suitable surfactant alkylpolysaccharides may contain one or more sugar units selected from the group consisting of maltose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, galactose, gulose, idose, talose, allose, altrose, sucrose, fructose, sorbose, levulose, lactose, allulose, tagatose, alloheptulose, sedoheptulose, glucoheptulose, mannoheptulose, guloheptulose, idoheptulose, galactoheptulose, taloheptulose and derivatives thereof. Suitable antimicrobial agents include chlorhexidine, chlorhexidine salt, chlorophenol derivative, octenidindihydrochloride (CH.sub.3--(CH.sub.2).sub.7--NHON--(CH.sub.2).sub.10--NO--NH(CH.sub.2).su- b.7--CH.sub.2 or any other salt thereof, and quaternary ammonium compounds.