Attachment of bacteria to soil is an important component of bacterial fate and transport. Escherichia coli is commonly used both as an indicator of fecal contamination in the environment and of bacterial fate and transport. Despite the fact that E. coli originate exclusively from feces or manure, the effect of manure colloids on E. coli attachment to agricultural soils is poorly understood. The objective of this work was to evaluate the magnitude of the E. coli attachment to soil in presence of manure. Escherichia coli attachment to soil was studied in breakthrough and batch experiments. Breakthrough column experiments were conducted with undisturbed, 20-cm long columns of Tyler clay soil from the A horizon. A pulse of 4 % filtered bovine manure solution with E. coli was passed through the previously water-saturated columns. The E. coli content and turbidity were measured in the effluent collected from the bottom of the columns. The manure content was calculated in the effluent based on turbidity measurements. Columns were subsequently segmented into 2-cm layers and viable bacterial concentrations in pore solution and attached to soil were measured. Flow velocity affected E. coli transport and attachment to soil. There was relatively more attachment at slower flow velocity than at higher flow velocity. The E. coli attachment to soil was 18%, 5%, and 9% at flow velocities of 2.3, 8.4, and 9.3 cm/day, respectively. The extent of E. coli and manure release from columns was directly correlated with flow velocity. We hypothesized that manure would affect E. coli attachment to soil and facilitate E. coli transport. To corroborate this hypothesis, we measured attachment of E. coli to soil in the presence of various amounts of manure. Three soil textures were used for the batch experiment. Samples of the loam soil were taken from the A horizon of Tyler soil. Clay loam and sandy clay loam samples were taken from topsoil in Beltsville, Maryland. E. coli cells were added to the water–manure suspensions containing 0, 2, and 4 % of filtered liquid bovine manure, which subsequently were equilibrated with air-dry sieved soil in different soil-to-suspension ratios. Manure dramatically affected E. coli attachment to soil. Attachment isotherms were close to linear without manure and were strongly nonlinear in the presence of manure. The maximum E. coli attachment occurred in the absence of manure. Increasing manure content generally resulted in decreased attachment. Similarity was obtained between E. coli attachment isotherms measured in the breakthrough and the batch experiments. The decrease in bacteria attachment to soil could be caused by (a) modification of soil mineral surfaces by soluble manure organic and inorganic constituents; (b) competition of dissolved organic matter and bacteria for adsorption sites; and/or (c) modification of bacteria surfaces by the dissolved organic matter. Keywords: Escherichia coli attachment, batch experiment, breakthrough experiment, loam, clay loam, sandy loam soil.