Abstract Archival XMM-Newton, Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data have been used to study the X-ray and optical properties of two candidate ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in NGC 4536. In order to search for potential optical counterparts, relative astrometry between Chandra and HST was improved, and as a result, optical counterparts were detected for both X-ray sources. To complement our findings (based on the archival data), ground-based optical spectra of the counterparts were obtained with the 6m BTA Telescope located at the Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). The calculated redshift (z = 0.4391±0.0010) for one of the sources (X-3) indicates that the source is, in fact, a background active galactic nucleus (AGN). Two possible optical counterparts (s1 and s2) were found for X-2. Whether s1 is point-like or an extended source is unclear: If it is point-like and the emission is dominated by the donor its spectral type indicates O-B star. The second source (s2) is point-like and is consistent with the colors and absolute magnitudes of a red supergiant.