Strains representing a novel ascomycetous yeast species, Candida sanyaensis, were isolated from soil samples collected on Hainan Island and Taiwan Island in China. Analysis of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit (LUS) rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of these strains showed that this species was related to Candida tropicalis and Candida sojae, their closest relatives. C. sanyaensis differed by three substitutions and one gap from C. tropicalis, and by four substitutions and one gap from C. sojae, in the D1/D2 domain sequences. However, the ITS sequences of C. sanyaensis were quite divergent from the latter two species, showing that it is a genetically separate species. The novel strains were also found to have very similar PCR-fingerprinting profiles which were quite distinct from those of C. tropicalis and C. sojae strains. The type strain of C. sanyaensis is HN-26(T) (= CICC 1979(T) = CBS 12637(T)).