A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based strategy was developed to rapidly obtain the gene encoding for an industrially important enzyme, glutaryl-7-aminocephalosporanic acid (GL-7-ACA) acylase. Different soil samples were cultured with a Pseudomonas selective medium to enrich specific microorganisms, and then the genomic DNA was extracted to serve as PCR templates. PCR primers for GL-7-ACA acylase gene amplification were designed on the basis of bioinformatics searches and analyses. The method was used to successfully amplify three GL-7-ACA acylase genes from different soil samples. The GL-7-ACA acylase genes were then cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli with a relatively high level of 266 unit·L^-1.