A new yeast, Cryptococcus zeae (type strain HB 1207(T)) is described. Six strains were isolated from corn and pests of corn in Austria. Microsatellite-primed polymerase chain reaction (MSP-PCR) fingerprints showed that the strains are members of the same species. Phylogenetical analyses of domains D1/D2 26S rDNA and ITS 1-5,8S-ITS 2 sequences showed C. zeae to have the closest relationship to C. luteolus. The D1/D2 sequences of C. zeae fit with three Korean Cryptococcus sp. strains (AF459690, AF459691, AF459692). The new species is separable from the closest relative C. luteolus using only two physiological tests.