A newly isolated Anoxybacillus sp. 527 was found to grow on crystalline cellulose as sole carbon and energy sources. Cellulases secreted by strain 527 were better induced by cellobiose, followed by glucose, lactose, sucrose, and cellulose. Cellulase secretion was enhanced by an optimized medium. Cellulase activity was increased by the addition of Ca2+ and NH (4) (+) and achieved maximum as 7.0 FPU ml(-1) at 70 A degrees C and pH 6.0. Even at 100 A degrees C, the enzymes were still active, which implies their potential application in large-scale cellulose conversion process.