Bacterial strain 14-2A(T), isolated from a long-term DDT-contaminated soil in China, was characterized by using a polyphasic approach to clarify its taxonomic position. Strain 14-2A(T) was found to be Gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile, non-flagellated and rod-shaped. The new isolate was able to grow at 4-42 °C, pH 6.0-9.0 and with 0-5 % NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate belongs to the family Sphingobacteriaceae. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain 14-2A(T) showed the highest similarity with Olivibacter oleidegradans TBF2/20.2(T) (99.4 %), followed by Pseudosphingobacterium domesticum DC-186(T) (93.8 %), Olivibacter ginsengisoli Gsoil 060(T) (93.6 %), Olivibacter terrae Jip13(T) (93.1 %), Olivibacter soli Gsoil 034(T) (92.8 %) and Olivibacter sitiensis AW-6(T) (89.6 %). The DNA-DNA hybridization value between strains 14-2A(T) and O. oleidegradans TBF2/20.2(T) was 34.45±2.11 %. Strain 14-2A(T) contained phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, aminophospholipid and phosphatidylinositol mannoside as the major polar lipids. The DNA G+C content was 41.2 mol%. MK-7 is the major isoprenoid quinone. Summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH are the major fatty acids. The phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data confirmed the affiliation of strain 14-2A(T) to the genus Olivibacter. On the basis of the phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics, and chemotaxonomic data, strain 14-2A(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Olivibacter, for which the name Olivibacter jilunii sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is 14-2A(T) ( = KCTC 23098(T) = CCTCC AB 2010105(T)).