This experiment was carried out to optimize the condition for the enzyme production by selected strain in the basal medium, to purify the enzyme and to characterize the purified enzyme. The results obtained were as follows. 1. The optimal conditions for the $eta$-galactosidase production were initial pH 7.0 and temperature $65^{circ}C$. 2. Enzyme was induced by the addition of lactose and galactose, and it was intracellular enzyme. 3. The purified enzyme was obtained with the increased level of activity approximately 28.5 folds as compared with crude enzyme and the yield of 15.2% by means of DEAE-Cellulose column chromatography, Sephadex G-150 gel filtration 4. $eta$-galactosidase from final step of purification showed a sing1e protein band on polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis. 5. The optimal temperature and pH of the purified enzyme were $65^{circ}C$, pH 6.5 for the hydrolysis of lactose.