A Gram-negative micro-organism, designated strain B7(T), was isolated from tidal flat sediment and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study involving morphological, physiological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. A phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain B7(T) belonged to the genus Paracoccus and was closely related phylogenetically to Paracoccus marcusii MH1(T) (97.5 % sequence similarity), Paracoccus marinus KKL-A5(T) (97.5 %), Paracoccus haeundaensis BC74171(T) (97.3 %), Paracoccus carotinifaciens E-396(T) (97.3 %), Paracoccus homiensis DD-R11(T) (97.2 %), Paracoccus seriniphilus MBT-A4(T) (96.9 %) and other type strains of the genus Paracoccus (95.2-96.7 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA and the major isoprenoid quinone of the type strain were 62.0 mol% and ubiquinone-10, respectively. The major fatty acid components were C(18 : 1)omega7c (68.9 %) and C(18 : 0) (18.1 %); this profile, with C(18 : 1)omega7c as the predominant fatty acid, was characteristic of members of the genus Paracoccus. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, DNA-DNA hybridization studies and physiological and biochemical tests identified genotypic and phenotypic differences between strain B7(T) and recognized Paracoccus species. On the basis of these data, therefore, strain B7(T) represents a novel species of the genus Paracoccus, for which the name Paracoccus aestuarii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is B7(T) (=KCTC 22049(T)=DSM 19484(T)=JCM 15119(T)).