In this study, effect of various metal ions and salts on biodecolorization of Reactive black-5, azoreductase activity, and growth of Shewanella sp. strain IFN4 was evaluated. Among the tested metals, Cr²⁺, Pb(²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Mn²⁺ did not inhibit the biodecolorization of reactive black-5, azoreductase activity and bacterial growth. Three metals (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Co²⁺) delayed the decolorization process without completely inhibiting the reaction and also suppressed the bacterial growth. However, no dye decolorization was observed in the presence of Cd²⁺ (10 mg L⁻¹). Furthermore, bacterium decolorized the dye at high concentration (15 mg L⁻¹) of mixed metal ions. Strain IFN4 was also able to decolorize the dye at 50 g NaCl L⁻¹ and 60 g Na₂SO₄ L⁻¹. NaCl was found to be more inhibitory to bacterial growth than Na₂SO₄and the reverse was observed for azoreductase activity. These findings suggest that strain IFN4 could be used in designing a bioreactor for the treatment of textile effluent.