A Gram-stain-positive, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium, designated JX-17 T , was isolated from a lakeside soil sample collected in Jiangxi Province, PR China. Growth was observed at 15-48°C (optimum 37°C), at pH 5.0-9.0 (optimum pH 7.0) and with 0-5.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 1.0%). Strain JX-17 T showed less than 95.3% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with species of the genus Paenibacillus. In the phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, strain JX-17 T was clustered in the genus Paenibacillus and formed a subclade with P. gelatinilyticus PG1 T (95.2%), P. bovis BD3526 T (94.9%), P. wulumuqiensis Y24 T (94.9%) and P. shenyangensis A9 T (94.3%). The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C 15:0 , iso-C 16:0 , anteiso-C 17:0 and C 16:0 , the predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7, the major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, an unidenti ed glycolipid, an aminophospholipid and a phosphatidylinositol. The diagnostic diamino acid of the peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid, and the DNA G + C content was 50.1 mol%. Based on the phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain JX-17 T represents a novel species within the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus jiangxiensis sp. nov is proposed, with strain JX-17 T (= KCTC 92851 T = CCTCC AB 2022396 T ) as the type strain.