Objective:To isolate and identify efficient phenol-degrading bacteria.Methods:The drain sludge of a coking plant were collected and microbes acclimated successively by the inorganic salt medium containing phenol as a sole carbon source in order to obtain efficient phenol-degrading bacteria.The isolated bacteria were identified by bacterial morphological features,physiological and biochemical test,and 16S rDNA sequences analysis.Results:A phenol-degrading bacterial strain JDM-2-1 was isolated and identified preliminarily as Bacillus sphaericus on the basis of its morphological,physiological and biochemical characteristics,and 16S rDNA sequence.This bacterial strain could utilize phenol as a sole carbon,tolerate phenol of 2 200 mg/L,and degrade phenol of 800 mg/L completely in period of 42 h when growing on the inorganic salt medium at temperature 35℃ and pH7.0.Conclusion:Strain JDM-2-1 is an efficient phenol-degrading Bacillus sphaericus.