Zearalenone (ZEN) is a secondary metabolite produced by the filamentous fungi of Fusarium, causing serious harm to human and animal health.Objective To identify a ZEN-degrading strain and investigate its growth and degradation characteristics under different conditions.Methods A bacterial strain that can efficiently degrade ZEN was screened out with ZEN as the only carbon source from soil samples of a field with continuous maize cropping in Anhui Province, China. The strain was identified by morphological observation, biochemical tests, and phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. The effects of temperature, pH, and incubation time on the growth rate and ZEN degradation efficiency of the strain were studied. Furthermore, the efficiency of different active components of the strain on ZEN degradation was measured, and the locations of the active components were determined.Results A total of 21 ZEN-degrading strains were isolated from the soil samples, among which strain DC-R2 showed the strongest degradation effect and it was identified as Gordonia sp. BHI medium was the optimal medium for the growth of this strain. The optimal culture conditions of the strain for ZEN degradation were 37 ℃ and pH 8.0, under which 100% ZEN (5 μg/mL) was degraded within 6 h. Intracellular enzymes were the main contributors in DC-R2 to ZEN degradation.Conclusion We isolated a strain Gordonia sp. DC-R2 capable of efficiently degrading ZEN. The intracellular enzyme present in this strain is the key to the degradation of ZEN. This provides a foundation for the purification of the key degrading enzyme in subsequent work and the potential application.