A novel cellulase-producing actinomycete strain Gxj-6^T, isolated from soil in the cold region (Heihe city, Heilongjiang province, the northernmost part of China), subjected to a taxonomic study using a polyphasic approach. In the neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, strain Gxj-6^T fell within the clade comprising the type strains of species of the genus Microbispora. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies exhibited that species Gxj-6^T was most closely related to Microbispora bryophytorum NEAU-TX2-2^T (99.45%), Microbispora fusca NEAU-HEGS1-5^T (99.41%), Microbispora camponoti 2C-HV3^T (99.31%) and Microbispora rosea subsp. rosea JCM 3006^T (98.68%). Organism Gxj-6^T contained MK-9(H₂) as the predominant ubiquinone and C_18:0 10-methyl as the major fatty acid. The major polar lipids of culture Gxj-6^T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol mannoside, three unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified glycolipids and two unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain Gxj-6^T was 71.25 mol%. The morphological and chemotaxonomic properties of the strain are also consistent with those members of the genus Microbispora. Combinated with the lower DNA–DNA relatedness values, phenotypic properties, physiology and biochemistry distinctiveness with other recognized species strains, revealed that strain Gxj-6^T is separated from other phylogenetically closely species of the genus Microbispora. Therefore, strain Gxj-6^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Microbispora, for which the name Microbispora cellulosiformans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Gxj-6^T (= CGMCC 4.7605^T = DSM 109712^T).