Grassland soil microorganisms play a pivotal role in maintaining the health and stability of grassland ecosystems. However, systematic studies on the diversity, geographical distribution, isolation techniques, and functional potential of novel bacterial taxa in grassland soils remain limited. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of 104 novel bacterial taxa described in 74 studies from grassland ecosystems across 19 countries between 2004 and 2025. We further predicted their functions via whole-genome data and compared them with background soil bacterial communities in grassland soils. Our results showed that novel bacterial taxa in grassland soils were mainly affiliated with the phyla Actinomycetota and Pseudomonadota, and their discovery frequency closely matched the abundance of background soil microorganisms. Their geographical distribution exhibited clear latitudinal zonality, with high-latitude regions being enriched with dormant taxa adaptive to harsh environments. Functional potential analysis suggested that these novel species not only provide the physiological verification of microbial dark matter, but may also play important roles in key ecosystem processes. Several representative taxa showed distinct ecological functional potential. Amnibacterium soli contributes to carbon and nitrogen cycling through efficient hydrolase systems; Chthonobacter albigriseus mediates methane oxidation to mitigate the greenhouse effect; Noviherbaspirillum agri possesses nitrogen-fixing, plant growth-promoting, and salt-alkali adaptation capabilities; and Streptomyces ziwulingensis can contribute to microbial defenses through secondary metabolite production. Together, these findings highlight the ecological and biotechnological potential of core grassland microbial taxa. Future studies integrating multidisciplinary approaches are needed to elucidate the functions and evolution of novel phyllosphere and rhizosphere taxa and bridge the gap between genomic sequences and ecological functions, thus providing microbiological support for improving the productivity and maintaining the ecosystem stability of grassland.