We describe Gaultheria paucinervia P. W. Fritsch & C. M. Bush (Ericaceae: Gaultherieae), a new species apparently restricted to the eastern slopes of Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah State, Borneo, Malaysia. This species has been confused with G. borneensis Stapf, but differs in its more erect habit and larger stature, longer nonappressed leaf trichomes, purple (vs. white) fruiting calyx, and lower elevation range, among other features. The two species are furthermore well separated in molecular phylogenetic analyses, with G. paucinervia grouping in a clade of other eastern Asian species sharing whitish green abaxial leaf surfaces, racemose inflorescences, and a fleshy calyx surrounding a dry capsule.