Strain 211018(T) was isolated from mangrove Excocaria agallocha rhizosphere soil. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed the highest similarity to the type strains of Micromonospora olivasterospora DSM 43868(T) (98.6 %) and Micromonospora pattaloongensis TJ2-2(T) (98.4 %). gyrB gene sequence analysis also indicated that strain 211018(T) should be assigned to the genus Micromonospora. The characteristic whole-cell sugars are xylose, mannose and arabinose. The predominant menaquinone is MK-9(H(4)) and the major fatty acids are iso-C(15 : 0) (27.5 %), 10-methyl C(17 : 0) (14.2 %), C(17 : 1)ω8c (12.8 %), iso-C(16 : 0) (12.6 %), anteiso-C(15 : 0) (6.1 %), iso-C(17 : 0) (4.1 %) and anteiso-C(17 : 0) (4.0 %). The phospholipid profile comprises phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylinositol mannosides. The DNA G+C content is 70.8 mol%. The chemotaxonomic data of the strain coincided with those of the genus Micromonospora. Furthermore, a combination of DNA-DNA hybridization results and some physiological and biochemical properties indicated that the novel strain could be readily distinguished from the closest phylogenetic relatives. On the basis of these phenotypic and genotypic data, strain 211018(T) represents a novel species of the genus Micromonospora, for which the name Micromonospora rhizosphaerae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 211018(T) (=CGMCC 4.5599(T) =DSM 45431(T)).