A novel bacterial strain, DCY86(T) (=KCTC 42053(T) = JCM 19890(T)) was isolated from soil of a ginseng field in Yeoncheon province (38°04'00″N 126°57'00″E), Republic of Korea using a serial dilution method. Strain DCY86(T) was observed to be Gram-stain negative, strictly aerobic, to grow optimally at 25-30 °C, at pH 7-7.5 and on tryptic soya agar medium. The cells were found to be sensitive to ceftazidine and tetracycline. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons, strain DCY86(T) was found to be most closely related to Cupriavidus basilensis LMG 18990(T) (98.48 %), Cupriavidus numazensis LMG 26411(T) (98.34 %), Cupriavidus pinatabonesis KCTC 22125(T) (98.34 %) and Cupriavidus laharis KCTC 22126(T) (98.00 %). The G+C content was determined to be 64.23 mol %. The only isoprenoid quinone detected in strain DCY86(T) was ubiquinone Q-8. The major polar lipids were identified as diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphtidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, unidentified aminophosphoglycolipids and unidentified phospholipids. The major fatty acids were identified as C16:0 summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c/ω6c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH) and summed feature 8 (C18:1 ω7c and/or C18:1 ω6c). These data support the affiliation of strain DCY86(T) to the genus Cupriavidus. Strain DCY86(T) was also found to be able to solubilize phosphate and produce siderophores. The results of physiological and biochemical tests enabled strain DCY86(T) to be differentiated genotypically and phenotypically from the recognized species of the genus Cupriaividus. Therefore, the novel isolate can be considered to represent a novel species, for which the name Cupriavidus yeoncheonense sp. nov. is proposed here. The type strain is DCY86(T) (=KCTC 42053(T) = JCM 19890(T)).