The Licchavis of Vaishali (Māgadhī Prakrit: 𑀮𑀺𑀘𑁆𑀙𑀯𑀺 Licchavi; Pāli: Licchavi; Sanskrit: ऋक्षवी Ṛkṣavī; English: "Bear Clan") were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and dynasty of eastern India whose existence is attested from the Iron Age to the Classical Age. The population of Licchavi, the Licchavikas, were organised into a gaṇasaṅgha (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Licchavi Republic, which was the leading state of the larger Vajjika League.

Following their eventual subjugation in the Magadha-Vajji war, the Licchavis continued to reside in the region of Vaishali. The fourth century A.D. Gupta Emperor, Samudragupta was the son of a Licchavi princess and referred to himself as a Licchavi-Dauhitra.

The Licchavikas lived in the southwest part of the Vajjika League, which was itself bounded to the north, east, south, and west, respectively, by the Himālaya mountains, and the Mahānadī, Gaṅgā, and Sadānirā rivers. The Sadānirā river was the Licchavikas' western border, and the Gaṅgā river as their border with the kingdom of Magadha in the south. The capital of the Licchavikas was located at Vesālī (Vaishali), which also acted as the headquarters of the Vajjika League led by Licchavi.

The tribal name Licchavi (𑀮𑀺𑀘𑁆𑀙𑀯𑀺) is a Māgadhī Prākrit derivation of the word liccha, meaning "bear". Attested variations of the name include Licchivi, Lecchavi, and Licchaī.

The Sanskrit form of the name Licchavi would have been Ṛkṣavī (ऋक्षवी​), from the Sanskrit word for bear, ṛkṣa (ऋक्ष). This Sanskrit form of the name was however not commonly used, and both Sanskrit and Pāli instead borrowed and used the Māgadhī Prakrit form Licchavi. This use of a tribal name derived from the name of the bear might have had a totemic significance.

The Licchavikas were an Indo-Aryan tribe in the eastern Gangetic plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region. They conquered the territory of the Mahā-Videha kingdom, and temporarily occupied the Vaideha capital of Mithilā, from where they could best administer the territory of Mahā-Videha. The consequence of the occupation of Mahā-Videha by the republican Licchavikas was that the latter relatively peacefully overthrew the already weakened Vaideha monarchical system and replaced it by a republican system.

Facing the rising power of Magadha to the south of the Gaṅgā, the Licchavikas established their republic in the southern part of the former Mahā-Videha kingdom and moved their political centre to the until then marginal location of Vesālī, which the Licchavikas turned into their largest city as well as their capital and stronghold. Meanwhile, the new Videha republic existed in a limited territory centred around Mithilā and located to the north of the Licchavikas. Many members of the Vaideha aristocracy who had submitted to the Licchavikas joined them in moving to Vesālī, and therefore became members of the Licchavika ruling aristocratic Assembly.

The Licchavikas also had their own origin myth which was recounted in Pali sources written by the 5th century CE commentator, Buddhaghosa. As per this story, the Queen of Varanasi gave birth to a lump of flesh which she discards down the Ganges. The lump is found downstream by an ascetic. The lump of flesh eventually splits into two children, a boy and a girl. The ascetic raises the two children however the cowherds of the area object to this arrangement and decide to raise the children themselves. The two twins are granted their own land and married off to one another eventually becoming the progenitors of the Licchavi clan of Vesālī. The story has mostly been dismissed by scholars as "mythical" and an attempt to prove the purity of their lineage.