Bacillus subtilis CAU131 (KCCM 10257) isolated from a fermented shrimp product produces subtilein, tentatively named as a bacteriocin, which exhibited a bactericidal effect against closely related species such as Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778, and several other strains of Bacillus sp. The purification of the subtilein was achieved by applying a mono-Q anion exchange chromatography on FPLC and $C_18$ reverse-phase chromatography on HPLC. After purification, specific activity of subtilein was increased about 3,000-fold compared with culture broth and its molecular mass was about 5,000 Da on SDS-PAGE. The antimicrobial activity of subtilein was well maintained at acidic and neutral pHs between 3 and 8. Subtilein was relatively heat stable, and its antimicrobial activity remained for 2 h at $80^{circ}C$. However, the activity was reduced after heating at $100^{circ}C$, and about $80\%$ of the activity was found after 1 h incubation at $100^{circ}C$. The treatment of Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 with subtilein led to morphological changes in stationary-phase cells and most cells appeared to be lysed.