Kensington is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km (2.5 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located primarily within the City of Melbourne local government area, with a small cluster of shops in the North of the Suburb located within the City of Moonee Valley. Kensington recorded a population of 10,745 at the 2021 census.

Kensington is known for its village ambiance, its cafes, and a diversity of architecture - including Victorian terraces, cottages, warehouse apartments and new structures in the west of the suburb. The suburb is hilly in sections and contains established tree lined streets.

The suburb is bounded by Racecourse Road to the north, Smithfield Road and the Maribyrnong River to the west, the Sunbury/Werribee railway lines to the south, and Moonee Ponds Creek to the east. Kensington was once home to one of Victoria's major abattoirs and livestock saleyards, an army ordnance depot and a number of factories. The stock yards ceased operation in 1984, prompting significant urban renewal in the area now known as Kensington Banks.

Kensington was named after Kensington in London.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to European settlement, the area was home to the Wurundjeri people, who have lived in the area surrounding the Birrarung Valley for up to 40,000 years.^{[citation needed]} They lived predominantly as hunters and gatherers, moving around the present-day City of Melbourne and its surrounds depending on changes in the weather and the availability of food.

Neighbouring Flemington was initially settled in 1839 by James Watson, who named the area after Flemington Estate in Scotland, where his father-in-law was a manager. The first land release came in 1840, when land adjacent to the Maribyrnong River was made available for cattle grazing. Kensington was part of the City of Essendon on its foundation in 1861, but later split away to form the Borough of Flemington and Kensington in 1882. The area was originally known for horse proving grounds, its cattle yards, and abattoirs.

In the late 1850s, the City of Melbourne moved its cattle yards from a location on the corner of Elizabeth and Victoria Streets to a location in the north of the suburb, near present-day Racecourse Road. The yards were completed in 1858, with the first sales held the following year. The yards' proximity to the Maribyrnong (or Saltwater) River, allowed for the discharge of liquid waste and were soon joined by factories for fellmongery, bone manure, and glue.

The abattoir and its associated factories were soon surrounded by suburbs, prompting complaints and public meetings objecting to the by-products and waste produced by the saleyards. Alfred Deakin, who represented the member for Essendon and Flemington in the Victorian Legislative Assembly until 1900, moved a division in favour of the yards' closure in 1891. Economic downturn in the 1890s, however, meant that the closure was postponed and a by-law was instead passed by the Melbourne City Council making it illegal to drive livestock through streets in Flemington and Kensington between 8am and 10pm.