Reaction of the hydroxyl group of serine-221 of subtilisin with phenylmethanesulfonylfluoride followed by nucleophilic substitution with sodium hydrogen telluride, a semisynthetic telluroprotein, tellurosubtilisin, was prepared. Tellurosubtilisin, which displays high substrate specificity for aromatic thiols, exhibits remarkable peroxidase activity and catalyzes the reduction of hydrogen peroxide by 3-carboxy-4-nitrobenzenethiol 20 000 times more efficiently than diphenyl diselenide.