Abstract A description is provided for Paecilomyces variotii . Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: A soil species, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions (DOMSCH et al. , 1980). DISEASE: On man it is implicated in causing peritonitis after peritoneal dialysis (CROMPTON et al. , 1991; CHAN et al. , 1996; RINALDI et al. , 2000), has been isolated from granulomatous diseases (WILLIAMSON et al. , 1992), causes infectious allergic brochopulmonary paecilomycosis (AKHUNOVA, 1991), chronic suppurative otitis (DHINDSA et al. , 1995), multifocal osteomyelitis (COHEN-ABBO & EDWARDS, 1995), onychomycosis (ARENAS et al. , 1998), sinusitis (ÉLOY et al. , 1998), hyalohyphomycosis ( ATHAR et al ., 1996) and endogenous fungal endophthalmitis (LAM et al. , 1999), found contaminating the lumen of a saline-filled breast implant (NIAZI et al. , 1996), causing fungaemia in a bone marrow transplant (SHING et al. , 1996) and is implicated in respiratory disorders in saw-mills (EDUARD et al. , 1993). On other vertebrates P. variotii has caused mastitis in a goat and been isolated from a dog and a horse (SMITH, 1989) (causing mycoses). GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: World-wide.