A 66-year-old woman presented with tender and pruritic, diffuse, erythematous nodules and pustules with crusts on vertex of the scalp 2 months. The patient had been treated with steroid lotions and antibiotic ointment for 1 month previously, but the lesion was worse. Tinea capitis was diagnosed by Wood’s lamp examination and KOH examination on the lesion. Species identification was performed by observation of morphologic and biochemical characteristics and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS), and Microsporum gypseum was confirmed. Treatment with oral itraconazole and topical flutrimazol cream after washing the hair with sertaconazole shampoo for 2 months was effective. Kerion celsi is a type of tinea capitis often caused by the zoophilic dermatophyte species of the genus Microsporum, and almost always seen in children. Kerion celsi is a severe inflammatory or suppurative type of tinea capitis, characterized by a painful, inflamed, crusty mass and often associated with purulent drainage and regional lymphadenopathy. Microsporum gypseum complex is a group of dermatophytes with a worldwide distribution and is a rare cause of dermatomycoses in humans and also rarely infects the scalp. Kerion celsi in the elderly is unusual and may be misdiagnosed as many other disease as dissecting cellulitis or seborrheic dermatitis. Herein, we report a rare case of kerion celsi caused by Microsporum gypseum.