The elephant had strayed into Polsona village this morning creating panic among its inhabitants.
As the villagers gave the elephant a chase to drive it away, the woman got into the path of the elephant, which picked her up in its trunk and hurled her to death, forest department sources said.
The elephant was later pushed back into the forest by the forest workers.
Herds of elephants, which had strayed into Bankura from Dalma forest of Jharkhand over a decade ago, have now become residents of the area. A group of elephants was sighted bathing at Mukutmonipur dam, a tourist spot in the district, last evening.