Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England, south of Sunderland, north of Hartlepool, west of the Durham Coast and east of Durham. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946, which also created the nearby settlements of Newton Aycliffe and Washington, Tyne and Wear.

The case for founding Peterlee was put forward in Farewell Squalor by Easington Rural District Council Surveyor C. W. Clarke, who also proposed that the town be named after celebrated Durham miners' leader Peter Lee. It is one of the few places in the British Isles named after a recent individual, and unique among post-Second World War new towns in having its existence requested by local people through their MP. A deputation, consisting mostly of working miners, met the Minister of Town and Country Planning to put the case for a new town in the district. The minister, Lewis Silkin, responded by offering a half-size new town of 30,000 residents. The subsequent new residents came largely from surrounding villages in the District of Easington.

Peterlee Development Corporation was founded in 1948, first under Dr Monica Felton, then under A.V. Williams. The original master plan for tower blocks of flats by Berthold Lubetkin was rejected as unsuitable for the area's geology, which had been weakened by mining works, and Lubetkin resigned in 1950. George Grenfell Baines' plan was accepted, and construction quickly began, but it was of poor quality. Williams invited artist Victor Pasmore to head the landscaping design team.

Peterlee is a civil parish and has a Town Council. Peterlee is under Durham County Council, the unitary authority elected to govern County Durham.

Peterlee's first elected mayor was William Whitehouse, who previously served on its council. Earlier he was in the Royal Air Force and taught at a school in Horden.

The Apollo Pavilion (1970) was designed by Victor Pasmore. It provided a focal point for the Sunny Blunts estate as well as a bridge across a water-course. It was named after the Apollo Moon missions.

From the late 1970s the Pavilion suffered from vandals and antisocial behaviour. The murals on the building faded, and to discourage antisocial behaviour, staircases were removed in the 1980s. In 1996, there was a failed attempt to list the Pavilion. English Heritage described it as "an internationally important masterpiece"; however, some local residents and councillors considered it an eyesore and campaigned to have it demolished. The campaign seemed to have been successful when demolition was proposed in 2000. However, in July 2009, a six-month revamp programme was completed at a cost of £400,000, which includes reinstating the original murals and stairs.

In December 2011, English Heritage gave the pavilion a Grade-II* listing.