Police are investigating after a body was found in the water at Perranuthnoe Beach near Penzance on Saturday afternoon.
A member of the public called police after finding the body, of a man believed to be in his 60s, at around 4.30pm.
The man was pulled from the water and declared dead at the scene before the body was airlifted to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by Sea King helicopter.
Coastguard, a lifeboat and ambulance were also called.
A police spokesperson said that a formal identification of the man, believed to be from Northamptonshire, has yet to be carried out, although next of kin have been informed.
The spokesperson said: "The death is not being treated as suspicious but police enquiries continue to establish how the man came to be in the water.
"A file will be prepared for the coroner in due course."
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