WordPress Accounts and Gravatar
Gravatar is a part of the WordPress.com network. If you have registered for an account on WordPress.com, you will also have a Gravatar account, and can log in to Gravatar at any time using your WordPress.com credentials. If you don't yet have a WordPress.com account, you'll need to sign up for one to use Gravatar.
Have a site that runs WordPress, but isn't hosted on WordPress.com?
The WordPress platform is free, open source software that you can install on any server. It does not share account information with WordPress.com.
It's possible for you to have an account on your own WordPress installation but not on WordPress.com/Gravatar. An easy way to tell if you have a WordPress.com account is to try and reset your password using your email address instead of a username. If you have a WordPress.com account, you will receive a confirmation email and can proceed to use that account.