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Soil-transmitted intestinal worms known as helminths colonize over 1.5 billion people worldwide. Although helminth colonization has been associated with altered composition of the gut microbiota, such as increases in Clostridia, individual species have not been isolated and characterized. Here, we isolate and sequence the genome of 13 Clostridia from the Orang Asli, an indigenous population in Malaysia with a high prevalence of helminth infections. Metagenomic analysis of 650 fecal samples from urban and rural Malaysians confirm the prevalence of species corresponding to these isolates and reveal a specific association between Peptostreptococcaceae family members and helminth colonization. Remarkably, Peptostreptococcaceae isolated from the Orang Asli display superior capacity to promote the life cycle of whipworm species, including hatching of eggs from Trichuris muris and Trichuris trichiura. These findings support a model in which helminths select for gut colonization of microbes that support their life cycle. [Display omitted] • Isolation of Clostridia from the gut microbiome of helminth-colonized humans • Peptostreptococcaceae family of Clostridia are associated with helminths in humans • Peptostreptococcaceae induce Trichuris muris and Trichuris trichiura egg hatching Helminth-endemic regions are underrepresented in microbiome studies. Sargsian et al. isolate bacteria from individuals in rural Malaysia consisting of both well-studied and uncharacterized taxa. Clostridia associated with helminths in the microbiomes of these individuals display enhanced capacity to support the life cycle of the helminths Trichuris muris and Trichuris trichiura. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]