The enzyme, characterized from several bacterial species, hydrolyses the terminal N-acetyllactosamine residue (beta-D-Gal-(1->4)-D-GlcNAc) from the non-reducing end of oligosaccharides with the structure beta-D-Gal (1->4)-beta-D-GlcNAc-(1->3)-beta-D-Gal-(1->R). The enzyme also catalyses the activity of EC 3.2.1.140, lacto-N-biosidase, and is not active on oligosaccharides with a terminal GlcNAc residue.