A Gram-staining-positive, coccoid, halotolerant bacterial strain, designated SV-16T, was isolated from marine sediment and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The strain exhibited phenotypic properties that included chemotaxonomic characteristics consistent with its classification in the genus Salinicoccus. Growth occurred at temperatures in the range 25-37 °C (optimum 30 °C), at pH 7.0-11.0 (optimum pH 8.0) and at NaCl concentrations of up to 25.0% (optimum 15.0%). The highest level of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity was with Salinicoccus carnicancri CrmT (98.6%) followed by Salinicoccus halodurans W24T (96.6%). The predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylglycerol. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15:0, anteiso-C15:0, iso-C17:0 and anteiso-C17:0. The draft genome of strain SV-16T consisted of 2,591,284 bp with a DNA G+C content of 48.7 mol%. On the basis of the phenotypic characteristics and genotypic distinctiveness of strain SV-16T, it should be classified within a novel species of the genus Salinicoccus, for which the name Salinicoccus sediminis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SV-16T ( = MTCC 11832T = DSM 28797T).