Bosra (Arabic: بُصْرَىٰ, romanized: Buṣrā), formerly Bostra (Greek: Βόστρα) and officially called Busra al-Sham (Arabic: بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, romanized: Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region.

Bosra is an ancient city mentioned in 14th century BC Egyptian sources. A key Nabatean city, it became the prosperous provincial capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea following the dissolution of the Nabatean kingdom. With the advent of Christianity Bostra flourished as a Metropolitan Archbishopric under the jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. It also became a Latin Catholic titular see and the episcopal see of a Melkite Catholic Archeparchy.

Throughout its history under various Muslim rulers the city maintained its strategic importance as Syria's southern gateway. It attracted attention from Damascus' rulers and was governed by various lords, serving as a hub for Islamic learning and endowments. However it declined into a village during the Ottoman era, only to be revitalized in the 20th century with the construction of the Hijaz railway and growing archaeological interest, later prompting tourism-focused development by the Syrian government. Today it is a major archaeological site and has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Bosra had a population of 19,683 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the nahiyah ("subdistrict") of Bosra, which consisted of nine localities with a total population of 33,839 in 2004. Bosra's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslim, although the town has a small Shia Muslim community.

Bosra was the first Nabatean city in the 2nd century BC. The Nabatean Kingdom was conquered by Cornelius Palma, a general of Trajan, in 106 AD.

According to John Malalas it was called Bostra (Ancient Greek: Βόστρα) after Bostras, a Roman general who was dispatched to the country.

Under the Roman Empire Bosra was renamed Nova Trajana Bostra and was the residence of the legio III Cyrenaica. It was made capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea. The city flourished and became a major metropolis at the juncture of several trade routes, in particular the Via Traiana Nova, a Roman road that connected Damascus to the Red Sea. It became an important centre for food production and during the reign of Emperor Philip the Arab Bosra began to mint its own coins. The two Councils of Arabia were held at Bosra in 246 and 247 AD. The Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud mention Bosra as a town on the border outside Israel, but with a sizeable Jewish population. In the Jerusalem Talmud, it states that Resh Lakish was in Bosra when he saw them sprinkling water to the goddess Aphrodite. In the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Avoda Zara (58b) it likewise mentions how Resh Lakish interacted with the population in Bosra. There are also rabbis who were identified as the sage from Bosra, such as Rabbi Jonah of Bosra. The Talmud (Shabbat 29b) also notes that there was a synagogue in Bosra.

By the Byzantine period, which began in the 5th century, Christianity had become the dominant religion in Bosra (Βόσρα in Greek-Byzantine). The city became a Metropolitan archbishop's seat (see below) and a large cathedral was built in the 6th century. Bosra was conquered by the Sasanian Persians in the early 7th century but was recaptured during the Byzantine reconquest.