Bacterial blight, caused by Xanthomonas campestris is a major disease of hazelnut (Corylus avellana) worldwide. Georgia is a significant hazelnut producer, but the presence of X. campestris has not been previously confirmed. In 2022-2023, hazelnut plants in nurseries across western Georgia were observed with symptoms of bacterial blight. Samples, including 538 symptomatic samples of both 'Anakliuri' (Georgian) and 'Tonda di Giffoni' (Italian) hazelnut cultivars, were collected from the Samegrelo and Guria regions in Georgia. DAS-ELISA with polyclonal antibodies identified 34 potentially positive for X. campestris. Additionally, samples were cultured on YPGA and King's medium B for presumptive X. campestris identification based on yellow colonies with subsequent confirmation of 28 samples by a TaqMan triplex real-time PCR assay using species-specific primers. Sanger sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, performed on 24 of these, with further BLAST analysis, revealed four isolates as X. campestris (GenBank Accession Numbers: PP437082.1, PP434581.1, PP434578.1, PP434556.1) showing up to 100% nucleotide identity to X. campestris pv. campestris strains isolated from different countries (India, Serbia, and Mexico) and sources. Pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculating young shoots (20-30 cm long) of 2-year-old potted hazelnut plants (‘Hall's Giant’) with a bacterial suspension (108 CFU/ml) of each isolate. Bacterial cultures were re-isolated, fulfilling Koch's postulates. This represents the first report of X. campestris in Georgia, highlighting the need for disease management strategies and the use of disease-free planting material to protect this economically important crop.