A xylanase-producing bacterium was isolated from a soil sample collected in Yongin city, Korea. The strain was aerobic and gram positive, and grew between pH 5.0 and 11.0, forming a yellow-colored colony. The strain was classified as a novel subspecies bacterium of Paenibacillus barcinonensis by 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic, and biochemical characteristics, and thus named Paenibacillus sp. HX-1. This strain produced extracellular endo-β-1,4-xylanase, and the best xylanolytic activity (205.17 unit/ml) was obtained at 96 h in an optimized TNX medium containing 1% (w/v) bacto tryptone, 1% (w/v) NaCl, and 0.7% (w/v) beechwood xylan at pH 7.0, 37oC and 200 rpm. The endo-β-1,4-xylanase produced by the strain HX-1 yielded xylobiose as the end product from beechwood xylan hydrolysis. The enzyme exhibited optimum pH and temperature at pH 7.0 and 45oC, respectively. The remarkable enhancing effect of the TNX medium on xylanase production by HX-1, in spite of its simple formula, may have great advantages for industrial applications of xylanase.