A first record of the genus Dentella L. (Rubiaceae) from Madagascar is reported here. Dentella repens (L.) J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. was collected for the first time in the northwestern part of the island, within Analalava District of the Sofia Region. The material collected possesses all the salient characters of the species (e.g., creeping, prostrate herb, toothed corolla lobes, indehiscent fruits covered by transparent, flattened, bulbous-tipped trichomes). We postulate that the species has most likely recently reached Madagascar via long-distance dispersal either from Sri Lanka, where it is native, or Mauritius, where it has become naturalized.