A Gram-positive, aerobic bacterium, strain SA6(T), was isolated from marine sediment taken at a depth of 20 cm on the seashore of Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China. Strain SA6(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid, no diagnostic sugars, type PIII phospholipids, and MK-10(H(2)) and MK-10(H(4)) as the predominant menaquinones. The organism showed a range of chemical and morphological properties consistent with its classification in the genus Nocardiopsis. The almost-complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain SA6(T) was aligned with corresponding sequences of representatives of the genus Nocardiopsis and related taxa by using two tree-making algorithms. Strain SA6(T) formed a distinct phyletic line within the evolutionary radiation occupied by the genus Nocardiopsis and was related most closely to the type strain of Nocardiopsis lucentensis. Strain SA6(T) could be distinguished from its nearest phylogenetic relatives in the genus Nocardiopsis based on DNA-DNA relatedness data and a combination of phenotypic properties. Strain SA6(T) should therefore be assigned to the genus Nocardiopsis as a representative of a novel species, for which the name Nocardiopsis flavescens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SA6(T) ( = CGMCC 4.5723(T) = JCM 17424(T)).