Prospecting in the continental Miocene deposits at Grillental 6 in the Sperrgebiet, Namibia, has resulted in the discovery of a mandible of a barbourofelid carnivore. Despite the poor preservation of the dentition, the specimen yields important information for understanding the oldest members of the family, classified in the tribe Afrosmilini. The new Grillental mandible and other fossils from the Sperrgebiet (Fiskus and Langental) are currently classified in the species Ginsburgsmilus napakensis Morales, Salesa, Pickford and Soria 2001. The tribe Afrosmilini was widespread throughout the African continent in the Early Miocene and at the end of the Burdigalian it dispersed to western Europe. Keywords: Miocene, Namibia, Barbourofelidae, Afrosmilini, Biochronology, Biogeography.