The Lý dynasty (Vietnamese: Nhà Lý, Vietnamese pronunciation: [ɲâː lǐ], chữ Nôm: 茹李, chữ Hán: 朝李, Vietnamese: triều Lý), officially Đại Cồ Việt (chữ Hán: 大瞿越) from 1009 to 1054 and Đại Việt (chữ Hán: 大越) from 1054 to 1225, was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed from 1009 to 1225. It was established by Lý Công Uẩn when he overthrew the Anterior Lê dynasty. The dynasty ended when empress regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng (then 8 years old) was pressured to abdicate the throne in favor of her husband, Trần Cảnh in 1225, the dynasty lasted for 216 years. During Lý Thánh Tông's reign, the official name of the state was changed from Đại Cồ Việt to Đại Việt, a name that would remain Vietnam's official name until the onset of the 19th century.

Domestically, while the Lý emperors were devout in their adherence to Buddhism, the influence of Confucianism from China was on the rise, with the opening of the Temple of Literature in 1070, built for the veneration of the Confucius and his disciples. Six years later in 1076, the Quốc Tử Giám (Guozijian) was established within the same complex; Initially the education was limited to the children of the emperor, the imperial family as well as mandarin and nobility, serving as Vietnam's first university institution. The first imperial examination was held in 1075 and Lê Văn Thịnh became the first Trạng Nguyên (Zhuangyuan) of Vietnam.

Politically, the dynasty established an administration system based on the rule of law rather than on autocratic principles. They chose the Đại La Citadel as the capital (later renamed Thăng Long and subsequently Hanoi). Ly Dynasty held onto power in part due to their economic strength, stability and general popularity among the population rather than by military means like previous dynasties. This set off a historical precedent for following dynasties, as prior to the Ly Dynasty, most Vietnamese dynasties lasted very briefly, often fall to the state of decline following the respective dynasty founder's death.

Noblemen scholars such as Lê Văn Thịnh, Bùi Quốc Khái, Doãn Tử Tư, Đoàn Văn Khâm, Lý Đạo Thành, and Tô Hiến Thành made vast contributions culturally and politically, allowing the dynasty to flourish for 216 years.

The last emperor of the Anterior Lê dynasty, the unpopular Lê Long Đĩnh, died in 1009. His crown prince son was still very young and could not take over power from his own father. Members of the imperial court, including the official Đào Cam Mộc and the Buddhist monk Vạn Hạnh, decided to install general Lý Công Uẩn to become the new emperor of Đại Cồ Việt.

The first ruler of the Lý dynasty, Lý Công Uẩn, was of Min Chinese ancestry (from Min kingdom, today's Fujian province). The identity of his birth-father is unknown; likewise, little is known about his maternal side except that his mother was surnamed Phạm. Very few direct details about his parents (unknown birth-father, mother, and adoptive father Lý Khánh Văn) are known, however, the ethnic Chinese background of Lý Công Uẩn, at least on his paternal side, had been accepted by Vietnamese historian Trần Quốc Vượng. The Lý clan of Lý Công Uẩn's adoptive father Lý Khánh Văn was a Vietic Tao-hua clan that originated from the highland regions in Feng district.^{[citation needed]}

Công Uẩn himself was born in 974 CE in Cổ Pháp region, Bắc Giang circuit (now in Từ Sơn, Bắc Ninh Province, Vietnam). When he was three years old, Công Uẩn was adopted by a monk of Cổ Pháp pagoda named Lý Khánh Văn, whose surname Công Uẩn inherited. The good-looking and intelligent Công Uẩn was noted as an extraordinary child by Buddhist Zen master Vạn Hạnh. When mature, he joined the palace guard and rose through the ranks to commandership. In 1009, Công Uẩn succeeded Lê Long Đĩnh of the Lê family, thereby founding the Lý dynasty.

After a year of enthronement, in 1010, Lý Thái Tổ started to move the capital from Hoa Lư (Ninh Bình) to Đại La (Hà Nội), and renamed it Thang Long. He wrote the Edict on the Transfer of the Capital to announce his plan to move to the new place.