A bacterial strain (designated BB4(T)), which has beta-glucosidase activity, was isolated from soil around the roots of bamboo plants. Cells were Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile and straight-rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a clear affiliation with members of the family 'Xanthomonadaceae'. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain BB4(T) showed the following sequence similarities: 97.7% to Dyella japonica XD53(T), 97.1% to Frateuria aurantia LMG 1558(T), 96.2% to Fulvimonas soli LMG 19981(T), 94.3% to Rhodanobacter lindaniclasticus RP5575(T) and <90% to other members of the 'Gammaproteobacteria'. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 63.8 mol%. The major fatty acids were branched forms, especially large proportions of iso-C(15:0), iso-C(17:0) and iso-C(17:1)omega9c, similar to the profile of the genus Dyella. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization with D. japonica XD53(T) and Frateuria aurantia LMG 1558(T), in combination with phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, demonstrated that strain BB4(T) should be classified as a novel Dyella species. The name Dyella koreensis sp. nov. is proposed, with strain BB4(T) (=KCTC 12359(T)=NBRC 100831(T)) as the type strain.