Modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) is a theory that proposes a modification of Newton's laws to account for observed properties of galaxies. Modifying Newton's law of gravity results in modified gravity, while modifying Newton's second law results in modified inertia. The latter has received little attention compared to the modified gravity version. Its primary motivation is to explain galaxy rotation curves without invoking dark matter, and is one of the most well-known theories of this class.

MOND was developed in 1982 and presented in 1983 by Israeli physicist Mordehai Milgrom. Milgrom noted that galaxy rotation curve data, which seemed to show that galaxies contain more matter than is observed, could also be explained if the gravitational force experienced by a star in the outer regions of a galaxy decays more slowly than predicted by Newton's law of gravity. MOND modifies Newton's laws for extremely small accelerations which are common in galaxies and galaxy clusters. This provides a good fit to galaxy rotation curve data while leaving the dynamics of the Solar System with its strong gravitational field intact. However, the theory predicts that the gravitational field of the galaxy could influence the orbits of Kuiper Belt objects through the external field effect, which is unique to MOND.

Since Milgrom's original proposal, MOND has seen some successes. It is capable of explaining several observations in galaxy dynamics, a number of which can be difficult for Lambda-CDM to explain. However, MOND struggles to explain a range of other observations, such as the acoustic peaks of the cosmic microwave background and the matter power spectrum of the large scale structure of the universe. Furthermore, because MOND is not a relativistic theory, it struggles to explain relativistic effects such as gravitational lensing and gravitational waves. Finally, a major weakness of MOND is that all galaxy clusters, including the famous Bullet Cluster, show a residual mass discrepancy even when analyzed using MOND. As a result, it has not gained widespread acceptance.

In 2004, Jacob Bekenstein developed a relativistic generalization of MOND, TeVeS, which however had its own set of problems. Another notable attempt was by Constantinos Skordis [d] and Tom Złośnik [d] in 2021, which proposed a relativistic model of MOND that is compatible with cosmic microwave background observations; this model requires multiple extra fields (thus reducing the elegance of the model) and is still unable to match observed gravitational lensing.

Several independent observations suggest that the visible mass in galaxies and galaxy clusters is insufficient to account for their dynamics, when analyzed using Newton's laws. This discrepancy – known as the "missing mass problem" – was identified by several observers, most notably by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in 1933 through his study of the Coma Cluster. This was subsequently extended to include spiral galaxies by the 1939 work of Horace Babcock on Andromeda.

These early studies were augmented and brought to the attention of the astronomical community in the 1960s and 1970s by the work of Vera Rubin, who mapped in detail the rotation velocities of stars in a large sample of spirals. While Newton's Laws predict that stellar rotation velocities should decrease with distance from the galactic centre, Rubin and collaborators found instead that they remain almost constant – the rotation curves are said to be "flat". This observation necessitates at least one of the following:

Option (1) leads to the dark matter hypothesis; option (2) leads to MOND.

The majority of astronomers, astrophysicists, and cosmologists accept dark matter as the explanation for galactic rotation curves (based on general relativity, and hence Newtonian mechanics), and are committed to a dark matter solution of the missing-mass problem. The primary difference between supporters of ΛCDM and MOND is in the observations for which they demand a robust, quantitative explanation, and those for which they are satisfied with a qualitative account, or are prepared to leave for future work. Proponents of MOND emphasize predictions made on galaxy scales (where MOND enjoys its most notable successes) and believe that a cosmological model consistent with galaxy dynamics has yet to be discovered. Proponents of ΛCDM require high levels of cosmological accuracy (which concordance cosmology provides) and argue that a resolution of galaxy-scale issues will follow from a better understanding of the complicated baryonic astrophysics underlying galaxy formation.