Central Java (Indonesian: Jawa Tengah, Javanese: ꦗꦮꦶꦩꦢꦾ, romanized: Jawi Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in the south, East Java in the east, and the Java Sea in the north. It has a total area of 33,750.37 km², with a population of 36,516,035 at the 2020 Census making it the third-most populous province in both Java and Indonesia after West Java and East Java. The official population estimate in mid-2024 was 37,892,280 (comprising 19,037,740 males and 18,854,540 females). The province also includes a number of offshore islands, including the island of Nusakambangan in the south (close to the border of West Java), and the Karimun Jawa Islands in the Java Sea.

Central Java is also a cultural concept that includes the Yogyakarta Special Region, in turn including the city of Yogyakarta; however, administratively that city and its surrounding regencies have formed a separate special region (equivalent to a province) since the country's independence, and is administered separately. Although known as the "heart" of Javanese culture, there are several other non-Javanese ethnic groups, such as the Sundanese on the border with West Java. Chinese Indonesians, Arab Indonesians, and Indian Indonesians are also scattered throughout the province.

The province has been inhabited by humans since the prehistoric-era. Remains of a Homo erectus, known as "Java Man", were found along the banks of the Bengawan Solo, and date back to 1.7 million years ago. What is present-day Central Java was once under the control of several Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and the Dutch East Indies colonial government. Central Java was also the centre of the Indonesian independence movement. As the majority of modern-day Indonesians are of Javanese descent, both Central Java and East Java have a major impact on Indonesia's social, political, and economic life.

Java has been inhabited by humans or their ancestors (hominina) since prehistoric times. In Central Java and the adjacent territories in East Java remains known as "Java Man" were discovered in the 1890s by the Dutch anatomist and geologist Eugène Dubois. It belongs to the species Homo erectus, and are believed to be about 1.7 million years old. The Sangiran site is an important prehistoric site on Java.

Around 40,000 years ago, Australoid peoples related to modern Australian Aboriginals and Melanesians settled in Central Java. They were assimilated or replaced by Mongoloid Austronesians by about 3,000 BC, who brought technologies of pottery, outrigger canoes, the bow and arrow, and introduced domesticated pigs, fowls, and dogs. They also introduced cultivated rice and millet.

Recorded history began in what is now Central Java in the 7th century AD. The writing, as well as Hinduism and Buddhism, were brought by the Indians from South Asia, at the time of Central Java was a centre of power in Java. In 664 AD, the Chinese monk Hui-neng visited the Javanese port city he called Hēlíng (訶陵) or Ho-ling, where he translated various Buddhist scriptures into Chinese with the assistance of the Javanese Buddhist monk Jñānabhadra. It is not precisely known what is meant by the name Hēlíng. It used to be considered the Chinese transcription of Kalinga but it is now most commonly thought of as a rendering of the name Areng. Hēlíng is believed to be located somewhere between Semarang and Jepara.

The first dated inscription in Central Java was the Canggal from 732 AD. This inscription, from Kedu, is written in Sanskrit in Pallava script. It is written that a Shaivite king named Sri Sanjaya established a kingdom called Mataram. Under the reign of Sanjaya's dynasty, several monuments such as the Prambanan temple complex were built. At the same time, a competing dynasty Sailendra arose, adhering to Buddhism and built the Borobudur temple. After 820 AD, there was no more mention of the Hēlíng in Chinese records. Coinciding with the overthrow of the Sailendras by the Sanjayas who restored Shaivism as the dominant religion. In the middle of the 10th century, however, the centre of power moved to eastern Java. Raden Wijaya founded the Majapahit Empire, and reaching its peak during the reign of Hayam Wuruk. The kingdom claimed sovereignty over the entire Indonesian archipelago, although direct control tended to be limited to Java, Bali and Madura. Gajah Mada was a military leader during this time, who led numerous territorial conquests. The kingdoms in Java had previously based their power on agriculture, but Majapahit had succeeded in seizing ports and shipping lanes, in a bid to become the first commercial empire on Java. The empire suffered a setback after the death of Hayam Wuruk and the entry of Islam into the archipelago.

In the late 16th century, Islam had surpassed Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religion in Java. The emergence of Islamic kingdoms in Java is also inseparable from the role of Walisongo. At first, the spread of Islam was quick and was accepted by ordinary people, until the entrance of da'wah and it was carried out by the rulers of the island. The Sultanate of Demak was the first recorded Islamic kingdom in Java, first led by one of the descendants of the Majapahit emperor Raden Patah, who converted to Islam. During this period, Islamic kingdoms began to develop from Pajang, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Cirebon, and Banten. Another Islamic kingdom, the Sultanate of Mataram, grew into a dominant force in the central and eastern Java. The cities of Surabaya and Cirebon were subdued by Mataram. Only the Mataram and Banten Sultanates remained after the Dutch arrived in the early 17th century. Some Islamic kingdoms in Java can still be found in several regions, such as Surakarta (with two kingdoms of Kasunanan and Mangkunegaran), and Yogyakarta with the Yogyakarta Sultanate and Pakualaman.