Crocidura zaitsevi is a very small shrew described from Ngoc Linh Mountain in Vietnam. Its back is gray with a slight brownish hue, and specimens were collected in montane evergreen broadleaf forest.
The original description gives a head-and-body length of 48–58 mm. The back is gray with a slight brownish hue, grading into a slightly paler underside; the ears are dark gray. The tail is 62–81% of head-and-body length and is slightly paler underneath.
The specimens in the original description were collected in medium- to high-montane broadleaf evergreen forest at 1,650–2,300 m. This describes the collection sites and is not evidence of a preference outside them.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.