The taxonomic status of a marine actinomycete isolated from the sponge Haliclona sp. collected from Cebu, Philippines, was established using both phenotypic and genotypic data. Strain SPE 10-1(T) exhibited chemotaxonomic and morphological characteristics that were consistent with those of members of the genus Saccharopolyspora. It showed a strict requirement for salt and is the first obligate marine bacterium of the genus Saccharopolyspora to be isolated. The principal isoprenoid quinone detected was MK-9(H(4)). The fatty acid pattern consisted mainly of terminally branched iso and anteiso fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 72.6 mol%. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence supported affiliation of the strain with the genus Saccharopolyspora; the type strain of Saccharopolyspora gregorii was the closest phylogenetic relative (96 % sequence similarity). Sequence similarities of strain SPE 10-1(T) to other type strains of this genus were 93-95 %. It is proposed that strain SPE 10-1(T) should be classified in the genus Saccharopolyspora as a representative of Saccharopolyspora cebuensis sp. nov. The type strain of Saccharopolyspora cebuensis is SPE 10-1(T) (=DSM 45019(T)=CIP 109355(T)).