Two strains of pink-coloured bacteria, 5516T-9(T) and 5516T-11(T), were isolated from an air sample collected in Korea. The taxonomic status of these novel strains was investigated by means of a polyphasic approach. The novel strains were Gram-positive, aerobic, non-spore-forming and coccus-shaped bacteria. The DNA G+C contents of strains 5516T-9(T) and 5516T-11(T) were 61.0 and 59.3 mol%, respectively. The major isoprenoid quinone for both strains was MK-8. Strain 5516T-9(T) contained summed feature 3 (iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH and/or C(16 : 1)omega7c), C(16 : 0) and iso-C(17 : 1)omega9c, and strain 5516T-11(T) contained summed feature 3, iso-C(17 : 1)omega9c, C(17 : 1)omega8c and C(15 : 1)omega6c as the major fatty acids (>10 %). The polar lipid patterns of both strains were similar, comprising one phospholipid and one aminophospholipid as the major components. Phylogenetic analyses using 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that both novel strains were affiliated to the genus Deinococcus. Strain 5516T-9(T) exhibited the highest sequence similarity with Deinococcus marmoris DSM 12784(T) (96.8 %) and strain 5516T-11(T) showed the highest sequence similarity with Deinococcus saxicola DSM 15974(T) (94.5 %). The sequence similarity between strains 5516T-9(T) and 5516T-11(T) was 94.7 %. On the basis of the data presented, it is evident that both strains represent separate novel species of the genus Deinococcus for which the names Deinococcus aerolatus sp. nov. (type strain 5516T-9(T)=KACC 12745(T)=JCM 15442(T)) and Deinococcus aerophilus sp. nov. (type strain 5516T-11(T)=KACC 12746(T)=JCM 15443(T)) are proposed.