the genome of Rhodothermus marinus DSM 4253 encodes six glycoside hydrolases (GH) classified under GH family 3 (GH3): RmBgl3A, RmBgl3B, RmBgl3C, RmXyl3A, RmXyl3B and RmNag3. The biochemical function, modelled 3D-structure, gene cluster and evolutionary relationships of each of these enzymes were studied. The six enzymes were clustered into three major evolutionary lineages of GH3: β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidases, β-1,4-glucosidases/β-xylosidases and macrolide β-glucosidases. the RmNag3 with additional β-lactamase domain clustered with the deepest rooted GH3-lineage of β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidases and was active on acetyl-chitooligosaccharides. RmBgl3B displayed β-1,4-glucosidase activity and was the only representative of the lineage clustered with macrolide β-glucosidases from Actinomycetes. the β-xylosidases, RmXyl3A and RmXyl3B, and the β-glucosidases RmBgl3A and RmBgl3C clustered within the major β-glucosidases/β-xylosidases evolutionary lineage. RmXyl3A and RmXyl3B showed β-xylosidase activity with different specificities for para-nitrophenyl (pNP)-linked substrates and xylooligosaccharides. RmBgl3A displayed β-1,4-glucosidase/β-xylosidase activity while RmBgl3C was active on pnp-β-Glc and β-1,3-1,4-linked glucosyl disaccharides. Putative polysaccharide utilization gene clusters were also investigated for both R. marinus DSM 4253 and DSM 4252 t (homolog strain). The analysis showed that in the homolog strain DSM 4252 t Rmar_1080 (RmXyl3A) and Rmar_1081 (RmXyl3B) are parts of a putative polysaccharide utilization locus (PUL) for xylan utilization. Marine extremophilic biotopes, such as hot springs and hydrothermal vents, harbour diverse microbes hitherto underexploited and unexplored. Recent genomic studies show that many of the species, especially those found in coastal geothermal areas surrounded by profusion of carbohydrate rich biomass (seaweeds as well as terrestrial species), contain a wide array of novel glycoside hydrolases (GHs) 1,2. Thermostable GHs have numerous applications in different fields, making marine thermophiles targets for prospecting of industrially interesting enzymes 3,4. Rhodothermus marinus are Gram-negative marine thermophilic bacteria, previously classified under the phylum Bacteroidetes, but recently assigned to the new phylum Rhodothermaeota 5. The type-species was isolated from a coastal hot spring on the NorthWest coast of Iceland and has an optimum temperature of 65 °C and is slightly halophilic 6. R. marinus can utilize a variety of sugars as carbon sources and produces a wide range of GHs 6-12. Sequence analysis shows that the R. marinus genome contains a large number of genes encoding GH enzymes, many of which are secreted extracellularly; yet, several of them appear to be attached to the cell surface 13. These putative enzymes include six members of GH family 3 (GH3) (RmBgl3A, RmBgl3B, RmBgl3C, RmXyl3A, RmXyl3B and RmNag3), which have not yet been studied.