Bearsden (/bɛərzˈdɛn/ ^ⓘ bairz-DEN) is an affluent town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately six miles (ten kilometres) from the city centre.

The Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of a military bath house can be seen near the town centre. The current settlement began in the 17th century as the kirkton of the parish of New Kilpatrick, and when a railway connection to Glasgow was constructed in 1863, it developed into an affluent suburb of the city.

By 2020, it had an estimated population of 28,470.

The first known settlement on the site of present-day Bearsden was a 2+1⁄2-acre (1-hectare) Roman fort in the second century AD. Between 142 and 144 AD, under Emperor Antoninus Pius, the Romans built a stone and turf fortification, called the Antonine Wall, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. They also built the Military Way, a road that ran parallel, to the south of the wall. The fort was positioned at the intersection of the Military Way, and the north–south road between Glasgow and Loch Lomond. A video reconstruction of the site has been produced. In 164 AD, after only 20 years, the Romans withdrew to Hadrian's Wall.

Little of the fort remains today. However, close to the fort was a Roman bath-house, built in approximately 142–143 AD. The bath-house's remains were discovered by builders digging foundations for a housing development in 1973. The site was donated to the government, and today the remains lie, well-preserved, 150 metres (160 yd) from the town centre. Two further stretches of the Antonine Wall's stone base can be seen in the New Kilpatrick Cemetery on Boclair Road.

Prior to 1649, the area formed part of a larger parish called Kilpatrick. One part was called West, or Old Kilpatrick, and covered Dumbarton and areas of west Dunbartonshire, such as Clydebank. The remaining part was named East or New Kilpatrick, covering a much greater area than Bearsden, from the River Clyde at Whiteinch and Yoker to Duntocher, Strathblane and Baldernock. Modern Bearsden began in an agricultural area as a small hamlet called New Kirk (or perhaps Chapelton) close to New Kilpatrick Parish Church, which was first built in 1649. Close landmarks included Canniesburn Toll, and a water mill at Garscube. The present-day church was built in 1807.

The size and style of the community prior to urbanisation is recorded in Rambles Round Glasgow, first published in 1854. The author describes a route from Maryhill, crossing the River Kelvin at Garscube Mill to Canniesburn. At that point, the route takes the road to Drymen, rather than the alternative to Milngavie. Of particular note are the woods and gardens surrounding the fine houses of Killermont and Garscube, which are contrasted with a small shop at Canniesburn with apparently nothing left for sale. The kirk-toun (modern Bearsden Cross) is described as consisting of about a dozen cottages of idyllic rural beauty, isolated from the noise and dirt of Glasgow. The account also includes one of the earliest references to "Bear's Den", and although the location is not clear, a traditional belief is recorded that it was a Roman burial site.

The New Kirk settlement grew from the middle of the nineteenth century when Glaswegian businessmen built houses at a commutable distance from the city. In 1863, the Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Railway opened, with a station near New Kirk called Bearsden. This was soon adopted as the name of the community. The opening of the railway led to considerable development of Bearsden, with many large Victorian houses built in what is now known as Old Bearsden Conservation Area.