A Gram-positive, facultative-anaerobic, rod-shaped and endospore-forming bacterium designated as strain J30-4(T) was isolated from peat-soil collected in Russia. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain belongs to the genus Paenibacillus, closely related to Paenibacillus terrigena A35(T) (98.1%) and Paenibacillus harenae B519(T) (95.5%). Chemotaxonomic analysis revealed that strain J30-4(T) possessed menaquinone MK-7 as predominant quinone and diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidyl-ethanolamine, phosphatidyl-N-methylethanolamine and several unknown lipids were detected in the polar lipid profile. The cell wall peptidoglycan was of the A1γ type (meso-diaminopimelic acid). The major fatty acids were anteiso-C₁₅:₀ and iso-C₁₆:₀. The DNA G+C content of J30-4(T) was 55.5 mol%. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data presented in this study, strain J30-4(T) (= KEMC 7302-014(T) = JCM 18166(T)) is indicative of a new Paenibacillus species, for which the name Paenibacillus humi sp. nov., is proposed.