Abstract In this paper, we consider *-Ricci soliton in the frame-work of Kenmotsu manifolds. First, we prove that if (M, g) is a Kenmotsu manifold and g is a *-Ricci soliton, then soliton constant λ is zero. For 3-dimensional case, if M admits a *-Ricci soliton, then we show that M is of constant sectional curvature –1. Next, we show that if M admits a *-Ricci soliton whose potential vector field is collinear with the characteristic vector field ξ, then M is Einstein and soliton vector field is equal to ξ. Finally, we prove that if g is a gradient almost *-Ricci soliton, then either M is Einstein or the potential vector field is collinear with the characteristic vector field on an open set of M. We verify our result by constructing examples for both *-Ricci soliton and gradient almost *-Ricci soliton.