The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with Indiana University in 2016, "abolishing the 1947 independent incorporation absolutely and completely."

The institute's mission is "To foster and promote a greater understanding of human sexuality and relationships through research, outreach, education, and historical preservation." Research, graduate training, information services, and the collection and preservation of library, art, and archival materials are main activities carried out by The Kinsey Institute. The institute and Alfred Kinsey himself have been the subject of much controversy. As of July 1, 2019,^[update] evolutionary biologist and sex researcher Justin Garcia holds the title of executive director of The Kinsey Institute, previously noted as the institute's research director. Garcia is the institute's eighth executive director and their youngest in history at 34 years old when appointed as executive director.

The origins of the Kinsey Institute lie in the scientific research of Indiana University professor and entomologist turned sexuality researcher, Alfred Kinsey. The 1947 creation of the nonprofit institute, originally named the Institute for Sex Research (ISR), was supported by both Indiana University president Herman B Wells and the Rockefeller Foundation, a major financial backer of Kinsey's research. The ISR was established to protect and preserve the confidentiality of Kinsey's data and research materials by creating a secure, permanent repository for them.

Alfred Kinsey was director of the institute from 1947 until his death in 1956. Since then, the institute has had six directors: Paul Gebhard PhD (1956–1982), June Reinisch PhD (1982–1993), Stephanie Sanders PhD (interim director, 1993–1995), John Bancroft MD (1994–2004), Julia Heiman PhD (2004–2014), C. Sue Carter PhD (2014–2019), and Justin Garcia PhD (2019–present).^{[needs update]}

Shortly after the ISR's establishment, Kinsey's interview based research was published in the 1948 bestselling book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Its companion Sexual Behavior in the Human Female was published five years later. These books were popularly known as the "Kinsey Reports". Also, in 1950, research materials being shipped to the ISR were seized by U.S. Customs thereby resulting in the federal court case U.S. v. 31 Photographs. This case continued on after Kinsey's death, until it was finally settled in the institute's favor in 1957. The ruling granted ISR permission to import erotic materials for "research purposes".

Under Paul Gebhard's leadership, the interview based research project continued, resulting in the publication of Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion  [d] and Sex Offenders: An Analysis of Types. Other significant publications included JoAnn Brook's Sexual Nomenclature: A Thesaurus and Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg's Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women. Additionally, in response to criticism that Kinsey's original data was biased and not well defined, Gebhard and Johnson wrote The Kinsey Data: Marginal Tabulations of the 1938-1963 Interviews. To honor its founder, the Institute for Sex Research was renamed The Kinsey Institute for Sex Research in 1981.

When June Machover Reinisch became the new director, the name of the institute changed to The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, in order to better reflect its expanded mission. During her first years as director, as part of her contract with the university, the institute was completely renovated and expanded adding a new full floor for the library including temperature and humidity controlled stacks, a scholars' reading room, additional staff offices, and The John Money Visiting Scholars Study, an art gallery and new archives for the art and artifacts collections and additional research offices and laboratory space. Reinisch's directorship also saw the creation of a five-volume monographic series, The Kinsey Institute Series, beginning with the publication of Masculinity/Femininity resulting from institute-sponsored multidisciplinary seminars. Research focused on at-risk sexual behavior and the effects of prenatal exposure to medications on sexual and psychosexual development. Additionally, in 1990 the establishment of the institute's art gallery led to exhibitions featuring its art collection.

From 1984 to 1993, with direction from Indiana University to play an active role in public education, the institute produced "The Kinsey Report", an internationally syndicated newspaper column. Although "The Kinsey Report" is no longer a syndicated column, the Kinsey Institute continues to maintain a sex and sexuality FAQ and statistics page on their website. Additionally, a trade book aimed at popular audiences, The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex: What you must know to be Sexually Literate, was released in 1991.