Gymnocranius indicus sp. nov. is described as a new species of the fish subfamily Monotaxinae (Sparoidea: Lethrinidae), a group of commercially important species distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific, on the basis of 16 specimens collected from the Indian Ocean. The new species shares the following characters with its western Pacific sibling, the eyebrowed large-eye seabream, G. superciliosus : elongate body, distinctive and conspicuous dark patch above the eye, prominent forehead, moderately forked caudal fin, its lobes slightly convex inside, flank silvery, and reddish-to-red dorsal, pectoral, anal and caudal fins. However, principal component analysis based on seven morphological variables distinguished most specimens from the Indian Ocean from G. superciliosus . The most influential variable in the analysis was the eye diameter, significantly larger in the new species than in G. superciliosus . All specimens of the new species that were examined also lacked blue ornamentation on the snout and cheek. At the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit-I locus, the mean genetic p- distance between the two species was 0.039. With Gymnocranius indicus sp. nov., the genus now includes 12 valid nominal species; three additional species remain undescribed.