Update publication information. Two bacterial strains isolated from Chinese oilfield, Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b and P. stutzeri SLG510A3-8, were found having synergistic effect on hydrocarbon biodegradation. To investigate the synergy mechanism between the two strains, they were cultivated separately or individually in a two-chamber bioreactor containing the mineral medium supplemented with hexadecane, and were harvested at the later exponential phase for the label-free proteomics analysis on LC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS. Therefore, four groups of proteome profiles were obtained, including the one from Dietzia sp. monoculture, the one from P. stutzeri monoculture, the one from Dietzia sp. in the co-culture system, and the one from P. stutzeri in the co-culture system. The comparative proteomics analysis between the mono- and co-cultivated Dietzia sp. showed that a total of 222 Dietzia sp. proteins had significantly differential expression in the two groups. For P. stutzeri, it was statistically found that a total of 198 P. stutzeri proteins in P. stutzeri mono- and co-culture systems had significantly differential expression. Afterward, by integrating the proteomics data with our in silico data, the synergistic hexadecane degradation was found to be attributed to the cross-feeding and intermediate-induced metabolic regulation between the two strains.