Tricholoma bakamatsutake is one of the edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms as an allied species of Tricholoma matsutake. This is the first report on physical characteristics of T. bakamatsutake strains collected from Quercus mongolica forests in Korea. The pure cultures of these strains were isolated from the tissues of fruit bodies and the culture characteristics were investigated under different conditions (media, temperatures, nitrogen sources). Most strains showed the highest mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 20 or 25 oC. Two strains of T. bakamatsutake preferred the ammonium-form rather than the nitrate-form as an inorganic nitrogen source. T. bakamatsutake showed significantly slower mycelial growth when compared with T. matsutake from a Korean forest, although the optimum culture conditions for the two allied species were similar. We also tested the ability to form mycorrhizae as well as cellulase activity of T. bakamatsutake. All strains showed cellulase activity on a carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) agar plate. The mycorrhizae on axenic Pinus densiflora seedlings were formed by two strains of T. bakamatsutake after 3 or 8 months of inoculation. P. densiflora seedlings inoculated with T. bakamatsutake had a much higher biomass than un-inoculated seedlings.