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Dryopteris wulingshanensis, a new species growing on limestone in the Wulingshan Mountains, Hunan, China, is described and illustrated. This species is most similar to D. jishouensis and D. gymnophylla on general morphological traits, such as the form of scales, rhizome and sori, but differs by the number of vascular bundles at the base of the petiole, length to width ratio of lamina, stalk length of basal pinnae, division of the lamina, apex form of the pinnule and habitat. Moreover, molecular phylogenetic analysis using the chloroplast rbcL gene suggested that D. wulingshanensis, as the sister group of D. jishouensis, is a monophyletic clade. According to its restricted geographic range, small populations and few individuals, D. wulingshanensis should be considered endangered, according to the IUCN Red List criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]