The Chickasaw Bluff is the high ground rising about 50 to 200 feet (20–60 m) above the Mississippi River flood plain between Fulton in Lauderdale County, Tennessee and Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee.

This elevation, shaped as four bluffs, is named for the Chickasaw people. Known in the 19th century as one of the Five Civilized Nations in the Southeast, they occupied much of this area in western Tennessee and Mississippi. By their control of the bluffs, they could impede French river traffic in the 18th century when the peoples were at war.

The Chickasaw Bluffs were numbered by rivermen from one to four, starting from the north.

The Battle of Fort Pillow was fought from the First Chickasaw Bluff. The battlefield is preserved as Fort Pillow State Historic Park. The town of Randolph, Tennessee was founded on the Second Chickasaw Bluff in the 1820s and was an early rival of Memphis until the 1840s. The town was destroyed twice during the Civil War. Today there is a small unincorporated settlement near the base of the bluff.

Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park was founded in the 1930s on top of the Third Chickasaw Bluff in an effort to restore the forest that had been clear-cut in the area as well as stem the erosion of the bluffs that had been caused by poor farming practices. Today the park offers opportunities for hiking, fishing, boating, and camping.

Downtown Memphis is located on the Fourth Chickasaw Bluff. The highest point is approximately located near Martyrs Park, with land gradually sloping downward towards the Wolf River Harbor northward. One of Memphis' main nicknames is the "Bluff City," named after the Chickasaw Bluff.

The Chickasaw Bluffs are a relatively recent feature. They were formed from pleistocene loess (wind-blown) silt. This loess can be as thick as 70 feet and it generally tapers off as one moves eastward. The loess accumulated on top of fluvial deposits from the pliocene. These primarily consist of terrace gravels deposited from glacial runoff. Because of this, the bluffs are slide-prone, especially during seismic activity. The bluffs are characterized by very steep valleys and have higher gradient streams than areas to the east or west. Along the western edges facing the river or alluvial plains, the bluffs form nearly vertical cliffs. In Memphis, these edges have been smoothed out in the downtown area.

Although the Chickasaw Bluffs refer to the four numbered formations in Tennessee, the geological feature stretches from Hickman, Kentucky to around Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They do not form a continuous band, as they are split by river valleys such as the Obion River, Forked Deer River, Hatchie River, Loosahatchie River, Wolf River, Coldwater River, and Tallahatchie River.