Foamy viruses (FVs) are ancient retrovirus that infect most nonhuman primates and several animals, but are rarely reported in tree shrew Tupaia belangeri. In the present study, foamy virus was detected in tree shrew. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that FVtup shared the highest homology with SFVmac (99.3%) in China. The discovery of FVtup indicated that the tree shrew is a new host of foamy virus. FVtup is highly prevalent in Tupaia in China and there is the possibility of cross-species transmission from nonhuman primate to Tupaia.