10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.1.p1-12 Volume 8 Issue 1 2017 (January - March) Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are advantageous bacteria that inhabit around plant roots and enhance plant growth by a wide variety of direct and indirect mechanisms. Utilization of PGPR is now gradually increasing in agriculture and offers an attractive way to replace chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and supplements. In our present study six endospore forming bacterial isolates that were screened from rhizosphere of rice showed potential plant growth promoting (PGP) and antagonistic activities. Based on morphological and biochemical analyses the isolates were identified as lessThan i greaterThan Bacillus lessThan /i greaterThan sp. Among the isolates (FB1-FB-6), all the strains produced IAA, FB3 produced siderophore and phytase. All the isolates produced lytic enzymes, and FB1-FB6 solubilized various sources of organic and inorganic phosphates as well as zinc. Strains FB1-FB6 also strongly inhibited the growth of several phytopathogens such as lessThan i greaterThan Macrophomina phaseolina lessThan /i greaterThan , lessThan i greaterThan Fusarium oxysporum lessThan /i greaterThan , lessThan i greaterThan Alternaria lessThan /i greaterThan lessThan i greaterThan alternata lessThan /i greaterThan and lessThan i greaterThan Colletotricum lessThan /i greaterThan sp. lessThan i greaterThan in vitro lessThan /i greaterThan . Since, lessThan i greaterThan Bacillus lessThan /i greaterThan sp. FB1-FB6 shows PGP and antifungal activities so it can be surmised that the isolated strains have strong potential to be successful biofertilizers and bioenhacers. SUBHASIS MANDAL, PRAJESH DUTTA AND SUKANTA MAJUMDAR PGPR, Bacillus sp., Phosphate solubilization, and Antagonistic activity. 408-415