BACKGROUND: Benign recurrent meningitis, or Mollaret's meningitis, is an uncommon disease whose viral origin was long unidentified. Since 1991, about twenty cases have been reported in patients with herpes infection. CASE REPORT: A female patient had experienced repeated episodes of spontaneous meningitis since 1983. The episodes resolved spontaneously and no etiology had been identified. A spinal tap was performed when the patient was again hospitalized a new episode of meningitis and PCR amplification of the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV 2) was positive. The patient was given long term acyclovir per os. A new spinal tap after resolution of the meningitis episode was PCR HSV2 negative. DISCUSSION: HSV2 infection is one of the known causes of Mollaret's meningitis. Long-term antiviral therapy appears to prevent recurrence as was observed in our patient.