Abstract: A spore-forming,gram positive Bacillus-like,strain YIM 012,was isolated from one hypersaline soil sample collected from Xinjiang Province,China and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomy study.The isolated strain was motile,aerobic and appearing as halophilic in nature,based on its optimum growth condition between 70—250 g/L of NaCl concentration.The genomic DNA G+C content of the strain was 39 mol%.Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the closest relative of the strain was(Alkalibacillus salilacus)(99.6%)and the relatedness value of DNA-DNA hybridization was of 20%.Their physiological and biochemical characterizations were different in many aspects.Therefore,on the basis of polyphasic taxonomic data presented,a novel species of the genus Alkalibacillus,Alkalibacillus halophilus sp.nov,was proposed.The type strain was YIM 012.