Abstract: With 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indole-beta-galactosidase （X-gal） test paper,a rapid method for detection of beta-galactosidase activity was developed.Its principle is that the chromogen substrate X-gal is catalyzed by beta-galactosidase to produce blue 5-bromo4-chloro-3-indole.X-gal is very expensive,and each plate needs 3～4 mg X-gal for conventional methods.The developed test paper method was used to detect 101 Streptococcus strains isolated form cattle breeding farms around Shihezi City,with E.coli as positive control and Streptococcus agalactiae as negative control.A total of 21 strains produced beta-galactosidase,and the positive rate was 20.79%.The other strains did not produce beta-galactosidase,and the negative rate was 79.21%.The developed test paper method needs much less X-gal and reduces cost.The operation is also rapid,simple and accurate.