Foxtail millet, scientific name Setaria italica (synonym Panicum italicum L.), is an annual grass grown for human food. It is the second-most widely planted species of millet and the most grown millet species in Asia. The oldest evidence of foxtail millet cultivation was found along the ancient course of the Yellow River in Cishan, China, carbon dated to be from around 8,000 years before present.

Other names for the species include dwarf setaria, foxtail bristle-grass, giant setaria, green foxtail, Italian millet, German millet, and Hungarian millet.

Foxtail millet is an annual grass with slim, vertical, leafy stems which can reach a height of 120–200 cm (4–6+1⁄2 ft).

The seedhead is a dense, hairy panicle 5–30 cm (2–12 in) long.

The small seeds, around 2 millimetres (3⁄32 in) in diameter, are encased in a thin, papery hull which is easily removed in threshing. Seed color varies greatly between varieties.

Synonyms:

Common names for foxtail millet in other languages spoken in the countries where it is cultivated include:

The wild ancestor of foxtail millet has been securely identified as Setaria viridis, which is interfertile with foxtail millet; wild or weedy forms of foxtail millet also exist. Zohary and Hopf note that the primary difference between the wild and cultivated forms is "their seed dispersal biology. Wild and weedy forms shatter their seed while the cultivars retain them." The reference genome for foxtail millet was completed in 2012. Genetic comparisons also confirm that S. viridis is the antecedent of S. italica.