A Gram-positive, rod-shaped, spore-forming and moderately halophilic bacterium (strain 8-1(T)) was isolated from a sediment sample of a neutral salt lake in Xin-Jiang, China. The strain grew optimally at 30 degrees C, pH 7.0-7.5 and 8-12 % (w/v) NaCl. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(15 : 0) and anteiso-C(17 : 0). The predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-7 and the cell-wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. Phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and two unidentified glycolipids were found to be the major polar lipid components. The genomic DNA G+C content was 43.4 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain 8-1(T) was closely related to Lentibacillus salarius KCTC 3911(T) (98.0 % sequence similarity) and other recognized species within the genus Lentibacillus (94.5-95.9 %). The level of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain 8-1(T) and L. salarius KCTC 3911(T) was 40 %. Based on the phenotypic and genotypic data presented, strain 8-1(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Lentibacillus, for which the name Lentibacillus halodurans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 8-1(T) (=CGMCC 1.3702(T)=DSM 18342(T)).