A novel actinomycete, designated strain NEAU-M9(T), was isolated from soybean root (Glycine max (L.) Merr) and characterized using a polyphasic approach. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies showed that strain NEAU-M9(T) belonged to the genus Actinoplanes, being most closely related to Actinoplanes campanulatus DSM 43148(T) (98.85 %), Actinoplanes capillaceus DSM 44859(T) (98.70 %), Actinoplanes lobatus DSM 43150(T) (98.30 %), Actinoplanes auranticolor DSM 43031(T) (98.23 %) and Actinoplanes sichuanensis 03-723(T) (98.06 %); similarity to other type strains of the genus Actinoplanes ranged from 95.87 to 97.56 %. The neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate formed a distinct phyletic line with A. campanulatus DSM 43148(T) and A. capillaceus DSM 44859(T). This branching pattern was also supported by the tree constructed with the maximum-likelihood method. However, the low level of DNA-DNA relatedness allowed the isolate to be differentiated from the above-mentioned two Actinoplanes species. Moreover, strain NEAU-M9(T) could also be distinguished from the most closely related species by morphological, physiological and characteristics. Therefore, it is proposed that strain NEAU-M9(T) represents a novel Actinoplanes species, Actinoplanes hulinensis sp. nov. The type strain of Actinoplanes hulinensis is NEAU-M9(T) (= CGMCC 4.7036(T) = DSM 45728(T)).