A 4-chlorophenol-degrading bacterial strain, formerly designated as a strain of Comamonas testosteroni, was reclassified as a member of the genus Herbaspirillum based on its phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, as well as phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequences. Phylogenetic inference based on 16S rDNA sequences showed that strain CPW301(T) clusters in a phylogenetic branch that contains Herbaspirillum species. 16S rDNA sequence similarity of strain CPW301(T) to species of the genus Herbaspirillum with validly published names is in the range 98.7-98.9 %. Despite the considerably high 16S rDNA sequence similarity, strain CPW301(T) could be distinguished clearly from type strains of Herbaspirillum species with validly published names by DNA-DNA relatedness values, which were <15.7 %. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain CPW301(T) is 61.3 mol%. The predominant ubiquinone is Q-8 and the major cellular fatty acids are C(16 : 0) and cyclo-C(17 : 0). The strain does not fix nitrogen and is not plant-associated. It is an aerobic rod with one unipolar flagellum. On the basis of these characteristics, a novel Herbaspirillum species, Herbaspirillum chlorophenolicum sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain of the novel species is strain CPW301(T) (=KCTC 12096(T)=IAM 15024(T)).