A novel bacterial strain, designated Dae 13T, was isolated from sediment from a freshwater lake in Daejeon, South Korea, and was characterized taxonomically by using a polyphasic approach. The isolate was Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming and rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate belonged to the genus Pedobacter in the family Sphingobacteriaceae but was clearly separate from established species of this genus. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities between strain Dae 13(T) and type strains of Pedobacter species with validly published names ranged from 91.6 to 97.5 %. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 33.8 mol%. Chemotaxonomic data, i.e. the presence of MK-7 as the major menaquinone and iso-C(15 : 0), C(16 : 0) and summed feature 3 (iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH and/or C(16 : 1)omega7c) as the major fatty acids, supported the affiliation of strain Dae 13T to the genus Pedobacter. However, the results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed phenotypic differentiation of the isolate with respect to Pedobacter species with validly published names. Therefore, strain Dae 13T represents a novel species within the genus Pedobacter, for which the name Pedobacter daechungensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Dae 13T (=KCTC 12637T=LMG 23489T).