A Buffalo wing in American cuisine is an unbreaded chicken wing section (flat or drumette) that is generally deep-fried, then coated or dipped in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter. They are traditionally served hot with celery and carrot sticks and a dip of ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing.

Buffalo wings are named after Buffalo, New York, where they were invented, and have no relation to the animal. They are often called simply chicken wings, hot wings, or just wings.

Buffalo wings have gained in popularity in the United States and abroad, with some North American restaurant chains featuring them as a main menu item. The name "Buffalo" is now also applied to other spiced fried foods served with dipping sauces, including boneless chicken wings (made from chicken breast meat rather than a chicken wing), chicken fries, chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken, shrimp, and cauliflower. It is also used for other dishes, such as pizza, that are seasoned with the Buffalo-style sauce or a seasoning.

There are several different claims about the invention of Buffalo wings. One is that Buffalo wings were first prepared in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, by Teressa Bellissimo, who owned the bar with her husband Frank. At the time, chicken wings were inexpensive and undesirable, and normally thrown away or reserved for stock or soup.

Several versions of the story of the invention have been circulated by the Bellissimo family and others, including:

Although an article published about the Anchor Bar in a local newspaper during 1969 does not mention Buffalo wings, a local competitor of the Anchor Bar, Duff's, began selling Buffalo wings in that year.

Another claim is that John Young, who moved to Buffalo from Stockton, Alabama in 1948 at the age of 13, popularized chicken wings in Buffalo. Beginning in 1961, he began serving uncut chicken wings that were breaded, deep fried, and served in his own special tomato-based Mumbo sauce at his Buffalo restaurant. Prior to opening his restaurant, he had a conversation with a boxer who traveled; in a later interview Young recalled: "He told me that there was a restaurant in Washington, D.C. that was doing a good business with wings and I decided to specialize." In the same interview Young stated that the Anchor Bar did not offer Buffalo wings as a regular menu item until 1974. He registered the name of his restaurant, John Young's Wings 'n Things, at the county courthouse before leaving the Buffalo area in 1970. In 2013, at the National Buffalo Wing Festival held in Buffalo, John Young's contributions were acknowledged when he was inducted into the festival's National Buffalo Wing Hall of Flame.

In 1977, the city of Buffalo issued an official proclamation celebrating Anchor Bar co-owner Frank Bellissimo and declared July 29, 1977, to be Chicken Wing Day. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Buffalo wings gained in popularity as a bar food and appetizer across the United States, as well as in towns near the border in Canada. Large franchises specializing in Buffalo wings eventually emerged, notably Buffalo Wild Wings, founded in 1982, and Hooters in 1983. McDonald's began selling Mighty Wings as an option in 1990 at their restaurant locations in the United States. In 1994, following four Super Bowl appearances by the Buffalo Bills football team, the Domino's pizza chain added Buffalo wings to their national menu, followed by Pizza Hut the next year.