A Gram-negative, motile, psychrotolerant, oxidase- and catalase-positive bacterium, designated BSs20135(T), was isolated from Arctic marine sediment. Cells were straight or slightly curved rods and formed circular, convex and yellowish-brown colonies. Buds and prosthecae could be produced. The strain grew at 4-28 °C (optimum 25 °C) and with 1-5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2 %) and hydrolysed aesculin and DNA, but did not reduce nitrate to nitrite. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain BSs20135(T) belonged to the genus Glaciecola and shared 93.6-97.7 % sequence similarity with the type strains of known species of the genus Glaciecola. The major cellular fatty acids of strain BSs20135(T) were summed feature 3 (comprising C(16 : 1)ω7c and/or iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH), C(16 : 0), C(17 : 1)ω8c and C(18 : 1)ω7c. The genomic DNA G+C content was 40.3 mol%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, DNA-DNA hybridization data and phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characterization, strain BSs20135(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Glaciecola arctica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BSs20135(T) ( = CCTCC AB 209161(T) = KACC 14537(T)).