Deuterostomes (from Greek: lit. 'second mouth') are bilaterian animals of the superphylum Deuterostomia (/ˌdjuːtərəˈstoʊmi.ə/), typically characterized by their anus forming before the mouth during embryonic development. Deuterostomia comprises three phyla: Chordata, Echinodermata, Hemichordata, and the extinct clade Cambroernida.

In deuterostomes, the developing embryo's first opening (the blastopore) becomes the anus and cloaca, while the mouth is formed at a different site later on. This was initially the group's distinguishing characteristic, but deuterostomy has since been discovered among protostomes as well. The deuterostomes are also known as enterocoelomates, because their coelom develops through pouching of the gut, enterocoely.

Deuterostomia's sister clade is Protostomia, animals that develop mouth first and whose digestive tract development is more varied. Protostomia includes the ecdysozoans and spiralians, as well as the extinct Kimberella. Together with the Xenacoelomorpha, these constitute the large clade Bilateria, i.e. animals with bilateral symmetry and three germ layers.

Initially, Deuterostomia included the phyla Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, Chaetognatha, and Phoronida based on morphological and embryological characteristics. However, Deuterostomia was redefined in 1995 based on DNA molecular sequence analyses, leading to the removal of the lophophorates which was later combined with other protostome animals to form the superphylum Lophotrochozoa. The arrow worms were also considered possible deuterostomes, but molecular studies have placed them in the protostomes. Genetic studies have also revealed that deuterostomes have more than 30 genes not found in any other animal groups, but which yet are present in some marine algae and prokaryotes. This could mean that these are ancient genes that were lost in other organisms, or that a common ancestor acquired them through horizontal gene transfer.

A consensus taxonomy of the deuterostomes is:^{[citation needed]}

There is a possibility that Ambulacraria is the sister clade to Xenacoelomorpha, and could form the Xenambulacraria group.

In deuterostomes, the developing embryo's first opening, the blastopore, becomes the anus, while the gut eventually tunnels through the embryo until it reaches the other side, forming an opening that becomes the mouth. This distinguishes them from protostomes, which have a variety of patterns of development.

In both deuterostomes and protostomes, a zygote first develops into a hollow ball of cells, called a blastula. In deuterostomes, the early divisions occur parallel or perpendicular to the polar axis. This is called radial cleavage, and also occurs in certain protostomes, such as the lophophorates.