Meltham is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Holme Valley, below Wessenden Moor, 5 miles (8 kilometres) south-west of Huddersfield on the edge of the Peak District National Park. It had a population of 8,089 at the 2001 census, which was estimated to have increased to 8,600 by 2005. The population assessed at the 2011 Census was 8,534. According to the 2021 Census, the civil parish of Meltham had a population of 8,590 people living in 3,695 households.

It has 12 elected council members who meet up around every 6 weeks.

The name Meltham probably derives from the Old English melthām meaning 'smelting or smelter's village'.

The valley has been inhabited since pre-historic times and there are two Iron Age sites overlooking the town. In 1086, Meltham was recorded in the Domesday Book as a village in the hundred of Agbrigg and the county of Yorkshire although in 1086 the village had been laid waste.

Meltham also includes the small village of Helme which has its own school and church. Meltham is situated within close reach of several major cities. Bradford is 14 miles (23 km) to the north, Leeds is 19 miles (31 km) north-east, Manchester is 19 miles (31 km) to the south-west and Sheffield is 21 miles (34 km) to the south-east.

Surrounding towns and villages within the Kirklees area include Crosland Moor, Golcar, Honley, Holmfirth, Linthwaite, Marsden, Netherton and Slaithwaite, with the villages of Saddleworth not far away across the county border in Oldham.

The Pennine Way runs across Wessenden Head around 3 miles (5 km) to the south-west and the Peak District Boundary Walk also runs past the west side of the town.

The town used to have a station on the Meltham branch line, which ran from Lockwood outside of Huddersfield. The line opened to passengers in 1869, closing in 1949, then it survived as a freight only line until the 1960s.