A potential biosurfactant producing strain, marine Nocardiopsis B4 was isolated from the West coast of India. Culture conditions involving variations in carbon and nitrogen sources were examined at constant pH, temperature and revolutions per min (rpm), with the aim of increasing productivity in the process. The biosurfactant production was followed by measuring the surface tension, emulsification assay and emulsifying index E24. Enhanced biosurfactant production was carried out using olive oil as the carbon source and phenyl alanine as the nitrogen source. The maximum production of the biosurfactant by Nocardiopsis occurred at a C/N ratio of 2:1 and the optimized bioprocess condition was pH 7.0, temperature 30 degrees C and salt concentration 3%. The production of the biosurfactant was growth dependent. The surface tension was reduced up to 29 mN/m as well as the emulsification index E24 was 80% in 6 to 9 days. Properties of the biosurfactant that was separated by acid precipitation were investigated. The biosurfactant activity was stable at high temperature, a wide range of pH and salt concentrations thus, indicating its application in bioremediation, food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.