Two Gram-reaction-negative, rod-shaped, gliding, yellow-pigmented bacterial strains, designated ZLD-17T and ZLD-29T, were isolated from arid soil samples collected from Xinjiang Province, north-west China, and subjected to analysis using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Both novel strains required 1.0–2.0 % (w/v) sea salts for optimal growth. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that these two strains belong to the genus Lysobacter within the class Gammaproteobacteria. Strain ZLD-17T showed highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to Lysobacter capsici KCTC 22007T (96.9 %), Lysobacter spongiicola DSM 21749T (96.8 %) and Lysobacter koreensis KCTC 12204T (96.8 %), whereas strain ZLD-29T showed highest sequence similarities to Lysobacter niastensis DSM 18481T (96.0 %) and Lysobacter enzymogenes DSM 2043T (95.9 %). 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between ZLD-17T and ZLD-29T was 96.1 %. The DNA G+C contents of strains ZLD-17T and ZLD-29T were 67.9 and 68.2 mol%, respectively. The major cellular fatty acids of both strains were summed feature 3 (iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and/or C16 : 1ω7c), iso-C17 : 1ω9c, iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso-C11 : 0 3-OH; their predominant isoprenoid quinone was Q-8 and their major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Based on their phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic position as determined by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and chemotaxonomic data, strains ZLD-17T ( = CCTCC AB 207174T = KCTC 23076T) and ZLD-29T ( = CCTCC AB 207175T = KCTC 23077T) represent two novel species of the genus Lysobacter, for which the names Lysobacter korlensis sp. nov. and Lysobacter bugurensis sp. nov. are proposed, respectively.