We isolated two polyacrylamide-degrading bacterial strains A and B from soil, and identified them as Enterobacter agglomerans and Azomonas macrocytogenes, respectively. Both strains grew on a medium composed of 10 mg/ml polyacrylamide as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. After 27-h cultivation, about 20% of the total organic carbon in the initial medium has been consumed and the average molecular weight of polyacrylamide has been reduced from 2 x 10(6) to 0.5 x 10(6) as a result of degradation.