During a lichen survey of different localities of Pakistan, a novel taxon in genus Circinaria was collected and identified as C. thorstenii. The key characters of C. thorstenii are rimose–areolate thallus surface, absence of lobes, presence of pseudocyphellae, taller hypothecium (35–80 μm), larger ascospores (20–40 × 15–28 μm) and the absence of secondary metabolites. The new species is described and illustrated here, based on morpho-anatomical characters and multigene (ITS, mtSSU, nuLSU) phylogenetic evidence. Keywords: Crustose · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa · Kohistan · Taxonomy.