The intricate history of Trophon birileffi Lischke, 1871 is analyzed. A lectotype is designated from 36 syntypes discovered in the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, Russia. The species is redescribed and other specimens as well as the protoconch and the radula are illustrated. Two species, Sistrum alfredensis and Fusus pachyraphe formerly considered as synonyms of Trophon birileffi, are removed from its synonymy.