Studies were carried out on the decolorization of the reactive dye Reactive Black 5 by a newly isolated bacterium, EC3. Phenotypic characterization and phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequence comparisons indicate that this strain belonged to the genus Enterobacter. The optimal conditions for the decolorizing activity of Enterobacter sp. EC3 were anaerobic conditions with glucose supplementation. at pH 7.0, and 37 degrees C. The maximum decolorization efficiency against Reactive Black 5 achieved in this study was 92.56%. Ultra-violet and visible (UV-vis) analyses before and after decolorization and the colorless bacterial biomass after decolorization suggested that decolorization was due to biodegradation, rather than inactive surface adsorption. The bacterial strain also showed a strong ability to decolorize various reactive textile dyes, including both azo and anthraquinone dyes. To our knowledge, it is the first time that a bacterial strain of Enterobacter sp. has been reported with decolorizing ability against both azo and anthraquinone dyes. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.