Six fossil leaves with fine venation and well-preserved cuticles of Machilus tiantaiensis Ding S.T. et Sun B.N.sp.nov. (Lauraceae) were discovered from the Late Miocene Xiananshan Formation of Tiantai County, eastern Zhejiang Province. The fossils were characterized by elliptic shape with entire margin, acuminate apex, cuneate base and pinnate venation; the anticlinal walls of epidermal cells are undulated, the unicellular trichome bases are mostly found on the veins; leaves hypostomatic, stomata paracytic with two embedded guard cells and one or two subsidiary cells. The leaf cuticular and architectural features of these fossil leaves suggest the affinity within the genus Machilus.