Eighty one bacterial strains of parathion degrading bacteria were isolated from soil samples that were contaminated with pesticide in Daejeon area. Among them, one bacterial strain was finally selected in media containing parathion as the sole source of carbon and energy, and this strain was identified as Pseudomonas rhodesiae H5 through physiological and biochemical tests, and analysis of its 16S rRNA sequence. Pseudomonas rhodesiae H5 was able to utilize various carbohydrates but did not utilize sorbose as sole carbon source. Pseudomonas rhodesiae H5 was resistance to ampicillin, spectinomycin, and mitomycin C but sensitive to kanamycin and chloramphenicol. And this strain showed high resistance up to several milligrams of heavy metals such as $BaCl_2$, LiCl, and $MnSO_4$. Optimal growth condition for temperature and pH of P. rhodesiae H5 was 3$0^{circ}C$, and pH 7.0, respectively. It can be presumed that P. rhodesiae H5 hydrolyzed an organophosphate bond of parathion, forming p-nitrophenol, and then metabolized via ortho-ring cleavage mechanism.