[Objective] To screen efficient dibutyl phthalate-degrading bacterium from the environment. [Methods] A bacterial strain ZJUTW that could degrade dibutyl phthalate was isolated from sludge of river of Hangzhou city, and identified by morphological, physiological characteristics and the analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence. Its dibutyl phthalate-degrading characteristics were studied. [Results] Strain ZJUTW was identified as Arthrobacter sp. The optimal temperature was 30 °C and optimal pH between 7.0 and 8.0. The degradation was best fitted by first-order kinetic equation and the half-life was 10.47 h at 800 mg/L dibutyl phthalate of initial concentration. Dibutyl phthalate of 1 200 mg/L could be completely degraded by the resting cell (OD600=1.2) in 20 h. GC-MS analysis of the metabolites revealed that initial step of dibutyl phthalate degradation was transesterification. [Conclusion] Based on the high-tolerance ability and high removal rate of the isolated Arthrobacter sp. ZJUTW, this strain has a potential for remediation of hazardous phthalates.