A Gram-negative, non-motile, short rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated N5(T), was isolated from a rice field soil in South Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the new isolate showed that strain N5(T) belongs to the genus Deinococcus, family Deinococcaceae, showing the highest sequence similarity to Deinococcus grandis KACC 11979(T) (98.4 %) and Deinococcus daejeonensis KCTC 13751(T) (97.5 %). Strain N5(T) exhibits resistance to gamma-radiation similar to that of other members of the genus Deinococcus, with a D-10 value in excess of 4 kGy. Chemotaxonomic data showed that the most abundant fatty acids are C-16:1 omega 7c (25.25 %), C-15:1 omega 6c (19.77 %), C-17:1 omega 6c (11.87 %), and C-17:0 (9.41 %), and the major polar lipid is an unknown phosphoglycolipid. The predominant respiratory quinone is menaquinone MK-8. The DNA G+C content is 71.4 mol%. Phenotypic, phylogenetic, and chemotaxonomic data support designation of strain N5(T) as a novel species of the genus Deinococcus, for which the name Deinococcus soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N5(T) (=KCTC 33153(T) = JCM 19176(T)).