•Hematopoiesis is skewed towards a higher output of myeloid cells in older adults.•Inflammageing in older adults may facilitate the development of MDSCs.•MDSCs may increase in healthy ageing independent of pathology.•MDSCs are elevated in many age-associated diseases. The challenge of distinguishing between changes attributable to ageing and those attributable to pathology is even greater for the immune system than for many other organs, and this is especially true for myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Hematopoiesis is different in older adults with a bias towards myelopoiesis, and older adults also manifest “inflammageing” exacerbated by disease and contributing to MDSC induction. Hence, at least in humans, one can only investigate MDSCs in the context of ageing and disease states, and not in the context of ageing processes per se. This contribution provides a brief overview of the literature on MDSCs and ageing in humans.