White grubs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) are most destructive insect pests for the production of a large number of crops in India. White grubs are more difficult to manage even with the best of the insecticides. In the present investigation an attempt was made to isolate some local strains of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner active against white grubs. A total of 200 Bacillus isolates were obtained from soil samples collected in different parts of Karnataka. The microbiological characteristics of the isolates indicated that isolates were rod shaped endospore formers. Insecticidal effects of the isolates were tested against first instar Holotrichia serrata, provided 18 isolates with 100% mortality of grubs. Three isolates, SBT-21, SBT-22 and SBT-62 were found to be toxic to three other species of third instar white grubs, viz., Leucopholis lepidophora, L. coneophora and Lepidiota mansueta. Based on the molecular characterization, ten isolates were confirmed as B. thuringiensis and as many as seven cry genes were identified from the 14 Bacillus isolates.