Bredia repens (Melastomataceae; Sonerileae), a species occurring in central and western Hunan, China and previously identified as B. longiloba in Chinese herbaria, is described as new based on morphological andmolecular data. Stamen morphology and molecular phylogenetic data strongly support the generic placement of B. repens within Bredia. Gross morphology and sequence divergence of the nrITS and chloroplast trnVtrnM regions indicate that B. repens is well differentiated from its close relatives, and thus should be treated as a distinct species. The new species is easily distinguished from B. longiloba by its prostrate lower stem with adventitious roots, the uppermost part erect to 13 cm tall, and cymeswith only one to four flowers. It resembles B. changii and B. microphylla in the prostrate habit, small leaf bladewith the abaxial surface usually purplish-red, and few-flowered cymes, but markedly differs from the former in that its uppermost stem part is erect, and from the latter in its denticulate leaf margin.