Focal myositis is a benign inflammatory pseudotumor of the skeletal muscle. It manifests by marked myopathic changes of the muscle fibers, interstitial fibrosis, and lymphocytic infiltration. We encountered such a case in a 30-year old male with 2-week history of fever and a painful, left side-neck swelling. He failed to respond to antibiotic therapy and required an incisional biopsy of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which revealed focal myositis. This lesion must be differentiated from neoplasms, nodular fasciitis, proliferated myositis, myositis ossificans, and polymyositis. The clinical symptoms, treatments, pathological findings and prognosis of the disease are also discussed. Althouigh its cause is unknown, it is a self-limited disease.