It can exist in a dormant spore form to resist harsh environments, or in a vegetative state when conditions are good.

High capacity of secretion of the alkaline serine protease has made B. licheniformis one of the most important bacteria in industrial enzyme production.

[3] A small antisense RNA against Subtilisin Carlsberg named BLi_r0872 was discovered in an RNA-seq based study.

[6] Colonies tend to be cream-colored, but will turn red in the presence of iron in media, most likely as a result of pulcherrimin.

[13][14] B. licheniformis is used as a probiotic in animal feed, where isolates have been shown to prevent disease and promote growth as well as being commercially available.

[18] Natural genetic transformation is a sexual process involving DNA transfer from one bacterium to another through the intervening medium, and the integration of the donor sequence into the recipient genome by homologous recombination.

[19][20] B. licheniformis has been found to be the causative agent of ventriculitis, ophthalmitis, bacteremia, peritonitis, and endocarditis.