Pattern classification algorithms have been applied in data mining and signal processing to extract the knowledge from data in a wide range of applications. The Fuzzy inference systems have successfully been used to extract rules in rule-based applications. In this paper, a novel hybrid methodology using: (i) fuzzy logic (in form of if-then rules) and (ii) a bio-inspired optimization technique (firefly algorithm) is proposed to improve performance and accuracy of classification task. Experiments are done using nine standard data sets in UCI machine learning repository. The results show that overall the accuracy and performance of our classification are better or very competitive compared to others reported in literature.