Background: Transient global amnesia (TGA) is an enigmatic amnestic syndrome and affects people in middle or older age. During an episode of TGA, a person is not able to make new memories, which indicates hippocampal damage. The symptom anosmia may be associated with memory impairment. Case presentation: A 70-year-old woman presented to our emergency room with transient spatial memory loss. She also complained of a sudden loss of smell. Magnetic resonance angiography confirmed occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery. Discussion and conclusion: The mechanism causing the transient anosmia may have resulted in a transient loss of hippocampal function, resulting in amnesia. This rare case is consistent with recent research showing that olfaction has developed as a navigation system.