The Rakhine (Burmese and Rakhine: ရခိုင်လူမျိုး) or Arakanese are a Southeast Asian ethnic group in Myanmar (Burma) forming the majority along the coastal region of present-day Rakhine State (formerly called Arakan), although Rakhine communities also exist throughout the country, particularly in the Ayeyarwady and Yangon Regions. They constitute approximately 4.61% or more of Myanmar's total population. Rakhine communities also exist in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts and India's Northeastern states.

Rakhine people consist of seven different ethnic groups, namely Rakhine, Kamein, Kwe Myi, Daingnet people, Maramagyi, Mru people and Thet. Among them, Rakhine ethnic are the majority in Rakhine State and have long been influenced by their proximity to India and have formed trading links with the sub-continent. Thet, Kamein, Daingnet and Marma people are the minority ethnic groups living in the hills.

The Rakhines are predominantly Theravada Buddhist. Their language contains similarities with the Burmese language and they are very close to Burma in culture and traditional dress. They have developed their own kingdoms, dynasties, scripts, coins, costumes, culture, and dialects. They also have their own ethnic armed group in Myanmar's Rakhine State known as the Arakan Army.

The Rakhine people have a variety of appearances, showing a mix of traits from both South Asian and East Asian backgrounds. Rakhine men mostly wear a sarong called lungyi, while the women also wear a sarong called thabein. The Rakhine people celebrate several key festivals including Sangrain and Buddha Purnima.

"Rakhine" (less commonly spelt Rakhaing) is the contemporary ethnonym and name of the region in Rakhine, Burmese, and English today. The word is extant to the mid-11th century, appearing on a pillar inscription at Shite-thaung Temple, and also appears in European, Persian, and Ceylonese accounts by the 15th century.

The term Rakhine may have come from the Pali word "Rakkhapura" from "Rakkhita" meaning the land of the people of Rakhasa (Rakhasa > Rakkha > Rakkhaing > Rakhaing) who were given this name in honor of their preservation of their national heritage and ethics or morality. The word Rakhine means, "one who maintains his own race." In the Rakhine language, the land is called Rakhinepray, the ethnic Rakhine are called Rakhinetha.

U Kala's Maha Yazawin traces the word's etymology to Alaungsithu's conquest of the region during the Pagan era, but epigraphic evidence to support the underlying theory remains scant. Arthur Phayre traces the etymology to the Sanskrit or Pali words for 'monster' or 'demon' (rākṣasa and rakkhasa) respectively, which is more likely. Some Rakhine inhabitants now prefer the alternative spelling of ရက္ခိုင်.

Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the Rakhine began calling themselves Mranma (မြန်မာ) and its derivatives, as attested by texts like the Rakhine Minrazagri Ayedaw Sadan and the Dhanyawaddy Ayedawbon. The word, which is also cognate with Bamar and is the Rakhine pronunciation of "Myanmar," continues to be used by their descendants in Bangladesh, who are known as the Marma. By this period, the Bamar began to call the Rakhine the Myanmagyi (မြန်မာကြီး; lit. 'great Mranma / Myanma'), as attested by contemporaneous Burmese and foreign sources. The ethnonym reflected their common ancestral kinship ties with the Buddhist-professing Bamar, with whom the Rakhine identified.