Orthotrichum revolutum, an endemic to China, has not been re-found since its original collection made 123 years ago. It is recorded from a new locality: Baihuashan Nature Reserve, Beijing, China. The plants morphologically agree well with the type specimens. Orthotrichum revolutum is firstly well photoed and its distribution is firstly mapped. Four records of this species from China’s Gansu, Xinjiang and Japan, Kyrgyzstan are all misidentifications in previous studies. We also discuss its main differences from close species and re-evaluate its threat status in the field.