Abstract BACKGROUND: Dieldrin is one of the most persistent organochlorine pesticides, listed as one of the 12 persistent organic pollutants in the Stockholm Convention. Although microbial degradation is an effective way to remediate environmental pollutants, reports on aerobic microbial degradation of dieldrin are limited. Wood‐rotting fungi can degrade a wide spectrum of recalcitrant organopollutants, and an attempt has been made to select wood‐rotting fungi that can degrade dieldrin, and to identify the metabolite. RESULTS: Thirty‐four isolates of wood‐rotting fungi were investigated for their ability to degrade dieldrin. Strain YK543 degraded 39.1 ± 8.8% of dieldrin during 30 days of incubation. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that strain YK543 was closely related to the fungus Phlebia brevispora Nakasone TMIC33929, which has been reported as a fungus that can degrade chlorinated dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls. 9‐Hydroxydieldrin was detected as a metabolite in the cultures of strain YK543. CONCLUSION: It is important to select the microorganisms that degrade organic pollutants, and to identify the metabolic pathway for the development of bioremediation methods. Strain YK543 was selected as a fungus capable of degrading dieldrin. The metabolic pathway includes 9‐hydroxylation reported in rat's metabolism catalysed by liver microsomal monooxygenase. This is the first report of transformation of dieldrin to 9‐hydroxydieldrin by a microorganism. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry