Teloschistes exilis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae.

It was first formally described in 1803 by French botanist André Michaux, as Physcia exilis.

[2] Finnish lichenologist Edvard Vainio transferred the taxon to the genus Teloschistes in 1890.

Secondary metabolites (lichen products) that have been identified from the lichen include parietin and teloschistin.

[4] A form of the lichen described by Vilmos Kőfaragó-Gyelnik in 1938, Teloschistes exilis f. inaequalis Gyeln., has been proposed to represent a synonym of Teloschistes nodulifer, after researchers studied Kofarago-Gyelnik's original type material that was collected from Argentina.