Release of chromium (Cr) from many industries has led to large-scale contamination of land and water, thus destructing of many agricultural lands and water bodies. Cr exists as Cr(III) and Cr(VI) (highly toxic). Cr(VI)-tolerant microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts and algae) are ubiquitous in soil and water. They can be used to clean up both Cr-contaminated soils and wastewaters. The aim of this work was the isolation of chromate-resistant microorganism and the analysis of the mechanisms involved in tolerance. We isolated a Cr-resistant bacterium from a contaminated soil. It was identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia by sequencing of 16S rDNA. The bacterium did not show chromate reductase activity, but it grew in rich medium containing 300 ppm Cr(VI). Cr(VI) concentration decreased by 57 % after 48 h growth. The remaining Cr(VI) was detected in the biomass (35 %) and in the exopolysaccharide (EPS, 22%). Cr(VI) absorption to EPS was verified by two approaches: 1) Cr(VI) exposure to EPS obtained from cells that grew without chromium and 2) by dialysis of EPS obtained from cells that grew with Cr(VI). Sugar-EPS composition was analysed by HPLC. Among tested sugars, rhamnose/galactose/mannose was the main sugar, showing a tendency to increase when cells grew in medium containing Cr(VI). These results suggest that this bacterium might be used in low-cost effective technology for bioremediation.