Aim of the present study was to identify genomic regions and candidate genes impacting on somatic cell count in the Frizarta dairy sheep. A total number of 482 Frizarta ewes genotyped with the medium density SNP array with available records on milk somatic cell count were used. Associations between genomic markers and the trait under study were detected by application of a multi-locus mixed model treating markers as fixed additive effects. Positional candidate genes identified within 1Mb flanking distances from significant markers were <i>in silico</i> prioritized based on their functional similarity to a training gene list including 1,120 genes associated with the term ‘immunity’. Association analysis pinpointed 4 chromosome-wide significant SNPs dispersed on four autosomes (OAR2, OAR18, OAR19 and OAR22). A total number of 37 positional candidate genes were identified within the searched genomic distances while 13 candidate genes were highly prioritized. Seven highly prioritized genes (<i>NFIB, GFRA1, PSIP1, ARHGAP5, HECTD1, EMX2, STRN3</i>) along with genes <i>FREM1</i> and <i>GPR33</i> had evidenced involvement in immune-related processes. Current results extent previous findings by providing novel candidate genes for the somatic cell count phenotype in dairy sheep.