An organic solvent-tolerant bacterium, designated as Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171, was isolated from industrial wastewater in Korea, on the basis of its ability to survive in the presence of benzene, toluene, propylbenzene and xylenes. Its tolerance limits were 8 mM in phenol, 20 mM in benzene and 60 M in toluene. The log P value of phenol was approximately 1.5, which indicates that Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171 exhibits the highest tolerance to organic solvents. Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171, a relative of P. putida, P. mosselii and P. moteillii based on phylogenetic analyses using 16S rRNA sequences, was designated as a new sp. that is tolerant to a wide spectrum of organic solvents, especially xylene isomers. These findings may facilitate the understanding of organic solvent tolerance in bacterial cells.