The indictment said the three men, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 26, Marwan Othman el-Hindi, 42, and Wassim Mazloum, 24, were part of a conspiracy that began in November 2004.
"It was part of the conspiracy that one or more conspirators would recruit others to train for violent jihad against the United States and its allies in Iraq, and elsewhere, and would propose potential training sites for use in providing ongoing firearms, hand-to-hand combat, explosives and other paramilitary training to prospective recruits," the indictment said.
The men were arrested over the weekend and indicted in the US District Court in Ohio.
US Attorney General explains
"These defendants have been living in the United States where they have been engaging in weapons training and seeking to provide help in order to kill people abroad, including our troops," US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said.
He told a news conference the men face a possible sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Mr Gonzales would not give any details about how far the men had gone in carrying out possible attacks or whether they had actually obtained any explosive devices.
According to the indictment, Amawi is a citizen of Jordan and the United States, Mazloum is a legal US resident and el-Hindi is a naturalised US citizen born in Jordan. All three had lived in the Toledo, Ohio, area.
The trainer
They worked with a US citizen identified in the indictment only as "the Trainer."
The indictment said the Trainer, who was not charged in the case, had a US military background and was recruited by el-Hindi in 2002 to help provide security and bodyguard training.
US Attorney Greg White said information about the three men came from the community. He said the Trainer was one source of the information.
As part of the conspiracy, the men researched and solicited potential funding sources for jihad training, the indictment said.
The men were also accused of gathering and viewing training materials, some from websites, for use in training sessions.
Amawi was charged with downloading a video, Martyrdom Operation Vest Preparation, on how to make a suicide bomb vest.
He was also charged with two counts of making verbal threats against President George W Bush.