A novel actinomycete strain, designated YIM 002(T), was isolated from a desert soil sample in Gansu Province, north-west China. This actinomycete isolate formed well-differentiated aerial and substrate mycelia. In the early stages of growth, the substrate mycelia fragmented into short or elongated rods. Chemotaxonomically, it contained ll-2,6-diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall. The cell-wall sugars contained ribose and glucose. Phospholipids present were phosphatidylinositol mannosides, phosphatidylinositol and diphosphatidylglycerol. MK-9(H(4)) was the predominant menaquinone. The major fatty acids were anteiso C(15 : 0) (35.92 %), anteiso C(17 : 0) (15.84 %), iso C(15 : 0) (10.40 %), iso C(16 : 0) (7.07 %) and C(17 : 1)omega8c (9.37 %). The G+C content of the DNA was 70 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis and signature nucleotide data based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain YIM 002(T) is distinct from all recognized genera of the family Nocardioidaceae in the suborder Propionibacterineae. On the basis of the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, it is proposed that isolate YIM 002(T) be classified as a novel species in a new genus, Jiangella gansuensis gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is YIM 002(T) (=DSM 44835(T)=CCTCC AA 204001(T)=KCTC 19044(T)).