Kinema, a traditional fermented soybean food, serves as a low-cost source of protein in the diet of the people of the Himalaya. The traditional method of kinema preparation results in a product with inconsistent quality. Forty five strains of spore-forming bacteria were isolated from nine samples of kinema collected from markets in the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim in India. Of these, 10 strains, identified as Bacillus subtilis (Ehrenberg) Cohn, were selected as possible starter cultures on the basis of enzyme activities and the production of slimy material. Protease activity (U/ml), Ξ±-amylase activity (U/ml) and relative viscosity of the selected strains were 6.5 to 81.5, 0.1 to 9.3, and 1.1 to 20.1, respectively. Kinema produced by these strains showed nitrogen contents (expressed as a percentage of the total nitrogen content) of: water-soluble N, 48.4 to 76.5; TCA-soluble N, 16.0 to 27.6; formal N, 5.0 to 12.5; ammonia-N, 4.4 to 7.8%. Reducing sugar was 1.1 to 2.0% of the wet weight and relative viscosity was from 2.0 to 35.2. Correlation matrices of the biochemical parameters and sensory attributes of the kinema produced by these B. subtilis strains were statistically analysed. Strains KK-2:B10 and GK-2:B10 of B. subtilis were the best starter cultures for improved kinema production.