DREB1 (dehydrationresponsive element binding protein 1) belongs to a subfamily of transcription factors found in plants that plays a key role during the response to abiotic stresses. On the basis of transcriptome sequencing data, we report a DREB1 gene, designated ZjDREB1.4 in this study, that was isolated from zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.), a popular warmseason turfgrass. (1) The ZjDREB1.4 gene encodes a protein that contains 226 amino acids and has an AP2 domain flanked by sequences characteristic of DREB1 proteins from other species. (2) The expression of ZjDREB1.4 was significantly induced by 4 ℃cold stress, moderately induced by high salt and slightly induced by drought stress. (3) The product of the fusion gene ZjDREB1.4GFP was primarily targeted to the nucleus. (4) Yeast onehybrid assays indicated that ZjDREB1.4 showed strong transactivation activity but weak binding to the DRE in which ACCGAC was the core sequence. (5) Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing ZjDREB1.4 showed similar growth to WT (wild type) with only a 3-8 day delay in bolting, but showed higher survival rates with high temperature or freezing temperature stress. Since ZjDREB1.4 functions in stress tolerance with weak adverse effect on plant growth and development, the potential usage of it in plant breeding is worthy of further study.