A novel endophytic actinomycete, designated strain NEAU-LZS-5(T), was isolated from the leaf of candelabra aloe (Aloe arborescens Mill) and characterized using a polyphasic approach. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain NEAU-LZS-5(T) belongs to the genus Streptomyces and exhibited 99.51 and 97.37 % similarity to Streptomyces sedi YIM 65188(T) and Streptomyces specialis GW41-1564(T), respectively, whereas low similarity values (<97 %) distinguished strain NEAU-LZS-5(T) from all other species of the genus Streptomyces with validly published names. Two tree-making algorithms also supported the position that strain NEAU-LZS-5(T) formed a distinct clade with Streptomyces sedi YIM 65188(T) and Streptomyces specialis GW41-1564(T). However, levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain NEAU-LZS-5(T) and Streptomyces sedi YIM 65188(T) and Streptomyces specialis GW41-1564(T) were 45.59 and 31.90 %, respectively. A comparative study between strain NEAU-LZS-5(T) and the type strains of closest related species of the genus Streptomyces revealed that it differed from them in morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics. Therefore, strain NEAU-LZS-5(T) represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces zhaozhouensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NEAU-LZS-5(T) ( = CGMCC 4.7095(T) = DSM 42101(T)).