In the article a rare clinical observation of a patient with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis with damage to the cervical spine and pronounced dysphagia and dyspnea is presented. The described case vividly demonstrates difficulties in diagnosis and treatment tactics of this disease and raises the question of necessity of diagnostic alertness to the diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in patients with progressive dysphagia and dyspnea, not only in those of aged and old age, but also in younger patients (the age of described patient was 56 years, while in 95% of cases described in the international literature, patients were above 60).