An actinomycete, strain 4776(T), was isolated from soil collected from Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province, China. The taxonomic status of this strain was established using a polyphasic approach. The organism was found to have morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics typical of streptomycetes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the almost complete 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the novel isolate belongs to the genus Streptomyces and consistently falls into a clade together with Streptomyces prasinopilosus DSM 40098(T), Streptomyces prasinus JCM 4603(T), Streptomyces bambergiensis DSM 40590(T), Streptomyces hirsutus DSM 40095(T) and Streptomyces cyanoalbus DSM 40198(T). However, DNA-DNA relatedness and phenotypic data distinguished strain 4776(T) from these phylogenetically related type strains. It is therefore concluded that strain 4776(T) (=CGMCC 4.3504(T)=DSM 41884(T)) represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces emeienseis sp. nov. is proposed.