The Needles Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse on the outermost of the chalk rocks at The Needles on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, near sea level. Designed by James Walker, for Trinity House at a cost of £20,000, it was completed in 1859 from granite blocks. It stands 33.25 metres (109.1 ft) high and is a circular tower with straight sides. It replaced an earlier light tower on top of a cliff overhanging Scratchell's Bay, which was first lit on 29 September 1786.

In 1781 a group of merchants and ship owners petitioned Trinity House for navigation lights to be provided around the western approaches to the Solent. The response was positive, but it was not until 1785 that construction began, on three new lighthouses: one on the clifftop above the Needles, one on Hurst Point and one on St Catherine's Down (which was left unfinished and never lit); all three were designed by Richard Jupp.

From September the following year the Needles light was operational. It was described as 'a low truncated cone, situated on the highest point of the lofty cliffs [...], and near the edge of the cliff, forming the western extremity of the island'; however, its height of 496 feet (151 m) above sea level meant it was often obscured by fog and sea mists, a problem that eventually led to its replacement some 70 years later. Illumination was provided by 13 Argand lamps with parabolic reflectors; The light initially shone white, but on 1 March 1840 it was altered to display a red light, so as not to be confused with the newly erected lighthouse on St Catherine's Point. Prior to its decommissioning, the light shone red to seaward but white from St Alban's Head to Hurst Point.

Before work could begin on the new tower, a sizeable section of rock was cut away to provide a level base. Tunnels were also excavated within the rock behind the tower to provide rooms for storage. An oil burner, with four concentric wicks, provided the light source atop the new tower; it was set within a large (first-order) fixed catadioptric optic provided by Henry-Lepaute of Paris. Keepers' accommodation was provided within the lighthouse, which was to be staffed by a team of three keepers (of whom, at any one time, two would be on duty in the tower and one on shore leave, by monthly rotation).

The lighthouse was first lit on 1 January 1859. It initially displayed a fixed red light with a white sector indicating a clear approach running south of Durlestone Head and past a pair of sandbanks: South-west Shingles and Dolphin Bank. Later a narrow white sector marked the approach from the north-east past Warden Ledge; By 1884 a further (green) sector had been added and the light made occulting.

The tower itself had initially been left as plain granite 'not coated nor coloured', but in 1886, so as to make it stand out more prominently against the cliffs during the day, it was painted with a broad black stripe around the middle; the metalwork of the lantern was also painted black, and dark curtains were hung within the glass when the lamp was not in use.

In 1922, a more powerful incandescent paraffin vapour burner was installed, which increased the intensity of the light from 35,000 to 500,000 candlepower.

During the Second World War, the lantern, lens and lamp were badly damaged in a German aerial attack. After the war the lighthouse was repaired: in 1946, a new electric light was installed (powered by diesel generators providing 100 volt direct current); then, in 1948, a new, second-order fixed catadioptric optic was made for the lighthouse by Chance Brothers, to replace the one damaged in the war.