Actinomycetes isolated from marine habitats represent a promising source of bioactive substances. Here, we report on the isolation, identification, productivity enhancement and application of the bioactive compounds of Streptomyces qinglanensis H4. Eighteen marine actinomycetes were isolated and tested for resistance to seven bacterial diseases. Using 16S rRNA sequencing analysis (GenBank accession number MW563772), the most powerful isolate was identified as S. qinglanensis. Although the strain produced active compound(s) against a number of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, it failed to inhibit pathogenic fungi. The obtained inhibition zones were 22.0 ± 1.5, 20.0 ± 1, 16.0 ± 1, 12.0 ± 1, 22.0 ± 1 and 24.0 ± 1 mm against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 19404, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538, respectively. To maximize bioactive compound synthesis, the Plackett-Burman design was used. The productivity increased up to 0.93-fold, when S. qinglanensis was grown in optimized medium composed of: (g/l) starch 30; KNO 3 0.5; K 2 HPO 4 0.25; MgSO 4 0.25; FeSO 4 •7H 2 O, 0.01; sea water concentration (%) 100; pH 8.0, and an incubation period of 9 days. Moreover, the anticancer activity of S. qinglanensis was tested against two different cell lines: HepG2 and CACO. The inhibition activities were 42.96 and 57.14%, respectively. Our findings suggest that the marine S. qinglanensis strain, which grows well on tailored medium, might be a source of bioactive substances for healthcare companies.