The bile acid sulfate sulfatase (BSS) produced by Pseudomonas testosteroni was purified and characterized. Chromatofocusing behavior and amino acid sequence over twelve amino acid residues from N-terminus of the enzyme indicated that BSS was composed of two isoforms of which molecular weights were 125,000 and 103,000. Each isoform was a homodimer of a subunit of which molecular weight was 53,000 or 51,000, respectively. The optimum pH was 8.5 and BSS was stable at pH 5.8-8.0. The thermostability above 32 degrees C was improved by the addition of polyols, such as sorbitol, sucrose, and glycerol. BSS was a Mn(2+)-dependent enzyme and contained 1-2 atoms of manganese in its own protein molecule. All 3 alpha-sulfate esters of the bile acids routinely appearing in human serum were hydrolyzed by BSS to 3 beta-hydroxyl iso-compounds corresponding to each bile acid and sulfuric acid. We tentatively named this novel enzyme BSS (bile acid 3 alpha-sulfate sulfohydrolase).