A Gram-stain-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped, motile, strictly aerobic bacterial strain, designated CAU 1033(T), was isolated from soil and its taxonomic position was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain CAU 1033(T) formed a distinct lineage within the genus Bacillus and was most closely related to Bacillus drentensis KCTC 13025(T) (similarity 95.9%). CAU 1033(T) contained MK-7 as the only isoprenoid quinone and iso-C-15:0 and anteiso-C-15:0 as the major fatty acids. The cell wall peptidoglycan of strain CAU 1033(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and the major whole-cell sugars were arabinose, sucrose and ribose. The polar lipids were composed of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified phospholipids, four unidentified aminophospholipids, an unidentified aminolipid, two unidentified glycolipids and another unidentified polar lipid. The DNA G+C content was 41.4 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic data and phylogenetic inference, strain CAU 1033(T) was classified as a representative of a novel species in the genus Bacillus for which the name Bacillus songklensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CAU 1033(T) (=KCTC 13881(T)=CCUG 61889(T)).