Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the extracellular lipase production by Burkholderia sp. HL-10. Preliminary tests showed that olive oil, tryptone and Tween-80 exhibited significant effects on the lipase production. The optimum concentrations of these three components were determined using a faced-centered central composite design (FCCCD). The analysis of variance revealed that the established model was significant (p < 0.01). The optimized medium containing 0.65% olive oil (v/v), 2.42% tryptone (w/v) and 0.15% Tween-80 (v/v) resulted in a maximum activity of 122.3 U/mL, about three fold higher than that in basal medium. Approximately 99% of validity of the predicted value was achieved.