Objectives To analyze the effect and impact of low‐dose rituximab induction therapy on cytomegalovirus infection in living‐donor renal transplantation. Methods A total of 92 recipients undergoing living‐donor renal transplantation at Okayama University Hospital from May 2009 to August 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. Indications for preoperative rituximab (200 mg/body) were the following: (i) ABO major mismatch; (ii) ABO minor mismatch; (iii) donor‐specific anti‐human leukocyte antigen antibody‐positive; and (iv) focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. We excluded four recipients who were followed <3 months, five who received >200 mg/body rituximab and seven who received prophylactic therapy for cytomegalovirus. Results There were 59 patients in the rituximab group and 17 in the non‐rituximab group. Groups differed significantly in age (median age 53 vs 37 years, respectively; P = 0.04), but not in sex (male 64% vs 65%, P = 1.00), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (3% vs 0%, P = 1.00) or percentage of cytomegalovirus‐seronegative recipients of renal allografts from cytomegalovirus‐seropositive donors (12% vs 18%, P = 0.68). The estimated glomerular filtration rate did not differ significantly between groups until 24 months after transplantation. Cytomegalovirus clinical symptoms (10% vs 24%, P = 0.22), including fever ≥38°C (5% vs 12%, P = 0.31) and gastrointestinal symptoms (5% vs 12%, P = 0.31), and the 5‐year survival rates of death‐censored graft loss (90% vs 83%, P = 0.43) did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusions Low‐dose rituximab induction therapy is effective in immunological high‐risk recipients without increasing cytomegalovirus infection in the absence of valganciclovir prophylaxis.