A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium (D1M17T) was isolated from the seawater surrounding scleractinian coral Acropora digitifera in Daya Bay, Shenzhen, PR China. Strain D1M17T grew with 0–10 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 3–4 %), at 15–37 °C (optimum, 28 °C) and at pH 4.5–8.5 (optimum, pH 7.0–7.5). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain D1M17T formed a lineage within the genus Aquimarina , family Flavobacteriaceae , and it was distinct from the most closely related species Aquimarina salinaria LMG 25375T, Aquimarina gracilis JCM 17453T and Aquimarina spongiae KCTC 22663T with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 97.2, 97.2 and 97.1 %, respectively. The major respiratory quinone was MK-6. The predominant fatty acids (more than 10 %) were iso-C15 : 0 (28.8 %), iso-C17 : 0 3-OH (21.5 %) and iso-C15 : 1 G (13.1 %). The DNA G+C content of D1M17T was 34.4 mol%. The polar lipids in D1M17T comprised one phospholipid and five unknown polar lipids. Phenotypic characteristics (physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic) also supported the taxonomic novelty of this isolate. Thus, strain D1M17T is considered to represent a novel species within the genus Aquimarina , for which the name Aquimarina acroporae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is D1M17T (=KCTC 92172T= MCCC 1K07224T).