A 51-year-old man presented with Staphylococcus aureus septicaemia. He improved initially but died suddenly on day 8 of his hospital admission. Post-mortem examination revealed multiple lesions of polyarteritis nodosa which were the cause of death. We are unaware of any other case of polyarteritis nodosa that presented with Staphylococcus aureus septicaemia. These two conditions have a number of similar clinical characteristics and are difficult to distinguish unless the association is considered.