A novel actinomycete that was capable of degrading poly(l-lactic acid), strain CMU-PLA07(T), was isolated from soil in northern Thailand. Strain CMU-PLA07(T) had biochemical, chemotaxonomic, morphological and physiological properties that were consistent with its classification in the genus Amycolatopsis. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the isolate formed a phyletic line within the genus Amycolatopsis. Strain CMU-PLA07(T) was most similar to Amycolatopsis coloradensis IMSNU 22096(T) (99.5 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Amycolatopsis alba DSM 44262(T) (99.4 %). However, strain CMU-PLA07(T) was distinguishable from the type strains of species of the genus Amycolatopsis on the basis of DNA-DNA relatedness and phenotypic data. Therefore, strain CMU-PLA07(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Amycolatopsis, for which the name Amycolatopsis thailandensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CMU-PLA07(T) ( = JCM 16380(T) = BCC 38279(T)).