A cream-coloured, non-gliding, aerobic Flavobacterium strain, designated EM1308(T), was isolated from stream water. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that this isolate is closely related to Flavobacterium glycines NBRC 105008(T) (97.3% similarity) and Flavobacterium piscis CCUG 60099(T) (97.2 %). To evaluate the genomic relatedness of the isolate with its neighbours, the whole genome sequences of strain EM1308(T) and the type strains of F. glycines and F. piscis were determined. Average nucleotide identities revealed that strain EM1308(T) is independent from other Flavobacterium species. The properties of major cellular fatty acids, polar lipids, menaquinone and DNA G+C content of the isolate were within the general range for the genus Flavobacterium, but many biochemical and physiological characteristics distinguished the isolate from previously known species. Thus, strain EM1308(T) represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium gilvum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is EM1308(T) (= KACC 18113(T) = JCM 30144(T)).