Is to report an oligoalginate lyase with high enzymatic activity and high-level expression. Using site-finding PCR and degenerate PCR, a gene (designated oalS17) encoding a new oligoalginate lyase was cloned from Shewanella sp. Kz7 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The gene consisted of 2,292 bp with deduced amino acid size of 763 including a putative signal peptide of 44 amino acid residues belonging to polysaccharide lyase (PL) family 17. The recombinant protein was most active at 50 A degrees C and pH 6.2 in 50 mM phosphate buffer. It degraded alginate more efficiently than polyM and polyG block into a monomeric sugar acid, with a specific activity of 32 U mg(-1) toward alginate, 24 U mg(-1) toward polyM and 5 U mg(-1) toward polyG. With the high-level expression and high enzymatic activity, the recombinant oligoalginate lyase OalS17 could be a potential enzyme for further research on alginate saccharification and biofuels production.