An Arthrobacter sp. and a Bacillus sp., isolated from a long-term tannery waste contaminated soil, were examined for their tolerance to hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] and their ability to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III), a detoxification process in cell suspensions and cell extracts. Both bacteria tolerated Cr(VI) at 100 mg/ml on a minimal salts agar medium supplemented with 0.5% glucose, but only Arthrobacter could grow in liquid medium at this concentration. Arthrobacter sp. could reduce Cr(VI) up to 50 microg/ml, while Bacillus sp. was not able to reduce Cr(VI) beyond 20 microg/ml. Arthrobacter sp. was distinctly superior to the Bacillus sp. in terms of their Cr(VI)-reducing ability and resistance to Cr(VI). Assays with permeabilized (treated with toluene or Triton X 100) cells and crude extracts demonstrated that the Cr(VI) reduction was mainly associated with the soluble protein fraction of the cell. Arthrobacter sp. has a great potential for bioremediation of Cr(VI)-containing waste.