Two bacterial strains, designated BBH5 and BBH7(T), were isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample collected from the Chagos Trench of the Indian Ocean (1 degrees 06' S 7 degrees 31' E). Based on their 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (99.9%), level of DNA-DNA relatedness (93%) and a number of similar phenotypic characteristics, the two strains are identified as representing the same species. Their phylogenetically nearest neighbours, based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values (97.9-98.4%), were identified as Brevibacterium iodinum, Brevibacterium epidermidis, Brevibacterium linens and Brevibacterium permense. However, strains BBH5 and BBH7(T) could be distinguished from the above four species by a number of phenotypic characteristics, and levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between the two new isolates and these Brevibacterium species were 35-42%. Therefore, strains BBH5 and BBH7(T) are considered to represent a novel species of the genus Brevibacterium, for which the name Brevibacterium oceani sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BBH7(T) (=LMG 23457(T) =IAM 15353(T)).