The Commonwealth of the Philippines (Spanish: Mancomunidad de Filipinas; Tagalog: Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth (dependency) of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the Tydings–McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands and was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for full Philippine independence. Its foreign affairs remained managed by the United States.

During its more than a decade of existence, the Commonwealth had a strong executive and a supreme court. Its legislature, dominated by the Nacionalista Party, was initially unicameral but later bicameral. In 1937, the government selected Tagalog – the language of the capital Manila and its surrounding provinces – as the basis of the national language, although it would be many years before its usage became general. Women's suffrage was adopted, and the economy recovered to pre-Depression levels before the Japanese invasion of the islands in 1941. A period of exile took place during World War II from 1942 to 1945, when Japan occupied the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth officially ended on July 4, 1946, as the Philippines attained full sovereignty as provided for in Article XVIII of the 1935 Constitution.

The Commonwealth of the Philippines was also known as the "Philippine Commonwealth", or simply as "the Commonwealth". Its official name in Spanish, the other of the Commonwealth's two official languages, was Commonwealth de Filipinas ([filiˈpinas]). The 1935 Constitution uses "the Philippines" as the country's short-form name throughout its provisions, and uses "the Philippine Islands" only to refer to pre-1935 status and institutions. Under the Insular Government (1901–1935), both terms were official. In 1937, Tagalog was declared to be the basis of a national language, effective after two years. The country's official name translated into Tagalog would be Kómonwélt ng Pilipinas ([pɪlɪˈpinas]).

The pre-1935 U.S. territorial administration, or Insular Government, was headed by a Governor-General appointed by the President of the United States. In December 1932, the United States Congress passed the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act with the premise of granting Filipinos independence. Provisions of the law included reserving several military and naval bases for the United States, as well as imposing tariffs and quotas on Philippine exports. When it reached him for a possible signature, President Herbert Hoover vetoed the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act, but the United States Congress overrode Hoover's veto in 1933 and passed the law despite Hoover's objections. The bill, however, was opposed by then-Philippine Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and was also rejected by the Philippine Senate.

This led to the creation and passing of the Tydings–McDuffie Act or the Philippine Independence Act, which allowed the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines with a ten-year period of peaceful transition to full independence – the date of which was to be 4 July after the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth.

A Constitutional Convention was convened in Manila on July 30, 1934, and on February 8, 1935, the 1935 Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was approved by the Convention by a vote of 177 to 1. The Constitution was approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 25, 1935, and ratified by plebiscite on May 14, 1935.

On September 16, 1935, presidential elections were held. Candidates included former president Emilio Aguinaldo, Philippine Independent Church Obispo Máximo Gregorio Aglipay, and others. Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña of the Nacionalista Party won the presidency and vice-presidency, respectively.