A novel bacterial strain designated CJ70(T) was isolated from tidal flat sediment in Korea. A polyphasic approach was used to identify this strain taxonomically. The isolate was Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped and non-motile. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain CJ70(T) was related most closely to Stakelama pacifica JLT832(T) with 95.7 % similarity and formed an independent phyletic line from recognized species of the genus Sphingomonas, comprising a clade with Stakelama pacifica, which is the only recognized species of the genus Stakelama. The predominant cellular fatty acids of strain CJ70(T) were C(18 : 1)ω7c (60.0 %), C(16 : 0) (21.2 %) and C(14 : 0) 2-OH (5.8 %). The major isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone-10. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 61.4 mol%. The results obtained from this study suggested that strain CJ70(T) represents a novel species of the genus Stakelama, for which the name Stakelama sediminis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CJ70(T) ( = KACC 16559(T) = JCM 18079(T)).