A new species of hoplichthyid, Hoplichthys imamurai, is described on basis of three specimens (128.9-143.6 mm SL) collected from northern Western Australia. It is clearly distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: short preoptic snout (31.2-32.7% HL); vomer without teeth; long, thin, gill rakers; low first dorsal fin, its ad-pressed tips not reaching origin of second dorsal fin in males; some filament-like elongated second dorsal-fin rays in males; emarginate caudal fin, upper edge elongated and filament-like in males. Toothless vomer and form of caudal fin are characters unique to H. imamurai in this genus.