The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize cyanide degrading alkaliphilic bacteria fromrnEthiopian Soda Lakes. Seventy two isolates capable of growing on a medium provided withrncyanide as a sole nitrogen source has been found. Based on their morphological features, thirtyrnisolates were screened for subsequent identification. ARDRA of the 16S ribosomal genesrnamplified by PCR was used to screen these isolates. Restriction analysis was done using threernendonucleases namely; AluI, HaeIII and RsaI. ARDRA revealed the presence of ninernpolymorphic groups among the thirty. 16S rDNA amplicons of representative strains werernsequenced and compared with sequences from NCBI and RDP databases. This revealed thernpresence seven bacterial strains from which three belonged to genus Bacillus, three to genusrnHalomonas, and the other one to uncultured bacterium clone, FJ152630. Based on phylogeneticrnanalysis, the unidentified strain was more related to and clustered with the Halomonas sublineages.rnStrains CNS10, CNA12 and CNC1 isolated from Lake Shala, Lake Abijata and LakernChitu respectively were found to be better candidates in that they have utilized up to 99.33% ofrn200mg/l cyanide and tolerated up to cyanide concentration of 600mg/l in batch mode with pH ofrn10.22. In addition to cyanide, these strains used other organic and inorganic nitrogen sources,rnyeast extract being the most utilized. Acetate was being provided as a source of carbon andrnenergy source but most interestingly all the strains have aggressively grown utilizing cyanidernwhen provided with cheap molasses as carbon source. In general, this study indicated thernpresence of diverse cyanide utilizing bacteria with visible potential for practical application.