A novel actinomycete, strain NEAU-st1(T), was isolated from a soil sample collected in Shaanxi province, Northwest China and characterized using a polyphasic approach. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies showed that strain NEAU-st1(T) belongs to the genus Nonomuraea, being most closely related to Nonomuraea rosea GW12687(T) (98.91 %), Nonomuraea solani NEAU-Z6(T) (98.44 %), Nonomuraea rhizophila YIM67092(T)(98.24 %) and Nonomuraea monospora PT708(T) (98.02 %); similarities to sequences of other type strains of the genus Nonomuraea were lower than 98 %. Both tree-making algorithms used also supported the position that strain NEAU-st1(T) formed a distinct clade with its most closely related species. Morphological and physiological characteristics confirmed that the strain belongs to the genus Nonomuraea and distinguished it from its most closely related species. DNA-DNA hybridization further differentiated strain NEAU-st1(T) from its nearest phylogenetic neighbours. These results suggested that strain NEAU-st1(T) represents a novel species of the genus Nonomuraea, for which the name Nonomuraea shaanxiensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NEAU-st1(T) (=CGMCC 4.7096(T) = DSM 45877(T)).