The Five-Year Plans (Chinese: 五年计划; pinyin: Wǔnián Jìhuà) are a series of social and economic development initiatives issued by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1953 in the People's Republic of China. Since 1949, the CCP has shaped the Chinese economy through the plenums of its Central Committee and national party congresses. The plenums follow a customary pattern of themes; since the 14th Party Congress (1992–1997), the fifth plenum has evaluated the current five-year plan and outlined the next five-year plan.

Planning is a key characteristic of the nominally socialist economies, and one plan established for the entire country normally contains detailed economic development guidelines for all its regions. In order to more accurately reflect China's transition from a Soviet-style command economy to a socialist market economy (socialism with Chinese characteristics), the plans since the 11th Five-Year Plan for 2006 to 2010 have been referred to in Chinese as "guidelines" (Chinese: 规划; pinyin: guīhuà) instead of as "plans" (Chinese: 计划; pinyin: jìhuà).

Medium and long-term planning are central to coordinating state activity across many policy areas in China and China's Five-Year Plans are one of the most prominent examples of this approach. Through the Five-Year Plans, the CCP and the government establish their policy priorities. Five-Year Plans continue to be a central means of organizing policy in China, especially in the areas of environmental protection, education, and industrial policy.

Formulation of a new five-year plan generally begins midway through the current plan. The formulation usually takes two to three years and involves series of rounds such as evaluation, preliminary research, drafting and revisions, and soliciting public input. The initial formulation of a Five-Year Plan begins with fairly short, general guidelines prepared by the CCP Central Committee in the fall prior to the start of a Plan period. More detailed plans are drafted by the State Council and approved by the National People's Congress the following March. These plans establish national priorities and outline how they will be met. Administratively, the Plans result in the development of numerous specific action plans across different levels of administration. These programs evolve over the course of the plan period. As academic Sebastian Heilmann observes, this process is best viewed as a planning coordination and evaluation cycle rather than a unified blueprint.

China's Five-Year Plans have been praised for their efficiency, capabilities and their importance to rapid economic growth, development, corporate finance and industrial policies.

Having restored a viable economic base, the leadership under CCP Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and other revolutionary veterans sought to implement what they termed a socialist transformation of China. The First Five-Year Plan was deeply influenced by Soviet methodologies and assistance from Soviet planners. Industrial development was the primary goal. With Soviet assistance in the form of both funds and experts, China began to develop industries from scratch. Consistent with the focus on developing industry, northeast China was the region which received the greatest share of state funds during the First Plan.

The First Five-Year Plan phrased its developmental focus in the terminology of revolution. It attributed the backwards state of China's economy to contradictions between the developing productive forces and the capitalist relations of production. Agriculture, fishing, and forestry would be collectivized. Regarding commercial and services industries, the approach in the first Five-Year Plan was for the government to buy them out, including through coercing reluctant sellers if necessary.

Government control over industry was increased during this period by applying financial pressures and inducements to convince owners of private, modern firms to sell them to the state or convert them into joint public-private enterprises under state control. The Plan strained agricultural production. In terms of economic growth, the First Five-Year Plan was quite successful, especially in those areas emphasized by the Soviet-style development strategy. During this Plan period, China began developing a heavy-industrial base and brought its industrial production above what it had been prior to war. China also raised its agricultural production to above prewar levels, resulting primarily from gains in efficiency brought about by the reorganization and cooperation achieved through cooperative farming. Although urbanization had not been a specific goal of the plan's focus on industrialization, industrialization also prompted extensive urban growth. By 1956, China had completed its socialist transformation of the domestic economy.