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Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are commonly used to improve crop yields. In addition to their proven usefulness in agriculture, they possess potential in solving environmental problems. Some examples are highlighted. PGPB may prevent soil erosion in arid zones by improving growth of desert plants in reforestation programs; in turn, this reduces dust pollution. PGPB supports restoration of mangrove ecosystems that lead to improve fisheries. PGPB participate in phytoremediation techniques to decontaminate soils and waters. These include: phytodegradation, phytotransformation, bioaugmentation, rhizodegradation, phytoextraction, phycoremediation, and phytostabilization, all leading to healthier environments. This review describes the state-of-the-art in these fields, examples from peer-reviewed literature, pitfalls and potentials, and proposes open questions for future research. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.