A Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile, non-spore-forming bacterial strain, designated TR6-04(T), was isolated from compost and characterized taxonomically by using a polyphasic approach. The organism grew optimally at 30 degrees Celsius and at pH 6.5-7.0. The isolate was positive for catalase and oxidase tests but negative for gelatinase, indole and H(2)S production. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain TR6-04(T) fell within the radiation of the cluster comprising Sphingobacterium species and clustered with Sphingobacterium mizutaii ATCC 33299(T) (96.7 % sequence similarity); the similarity to sequences of other species within the family Sphingobacteriaceae was less than 92.0 %. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 38.7 mol%. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7. The major fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH and summed feature 4 (iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH and/or C(16 : 1)omega7c). These chemotaxonomic data supported the affiliation of strain TR6-04(T) to the genus Sphingobacterium. However, on the basis of its phenotypic properties and phylogenetic distinctiveness, strain TR6-04(T) (=KCTC 12579(T)=LMG 23402(T)=CCUG 52468(T)) should be classified as the type strain of a novel species, for which the name Sphingobacterium daejeonense sp. nov. is proposed.