Corynebacterium xerosis is a normal flora of the skin, mucous membrane and gastrointestinal tract. Although not usually considered to be a pathogen, it occasionally causes serious infections in immunocompromised hosts. We report a case of a shunt infection by C. xerosis developed in a 58year-old woman following the insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The organism was also isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid and blood. The isolate was resistant to most of the antibiotics tested except for vancomycin. However, in spite of treatment with vancomycin, the patient was expired after 5 months. (Korean J Clin Microbiol 2006;9(2):142-145)