Facultative strain of bacteria capable of producing hydrogen was isolated from soil sample rich in decomposed biomass. The isolated strain was characterized and the process parameters, namely pH, temperature and fermentation time were optimized for the maximum hydrogen production. The optimum conditions were found to be: pH-7, temperature-34oC and fermentation time-42hrs. Under these optimum conditions, the isolated strain achieved the highest hydrogen production rate of 2.84 ml H2/L.h