Pyrrole is a heterocyclic, aromatic, organic compound, a five-membered ring with the formula C₄H₄NH. It is a colorless volatile liquid that darkens readily upon exposure to air. Substituted derivatives are also called pyrroles, e.g., N-methylpyrrole, C₄H₄NCH₃. Porphobilinogen, a trisubstituted pyrrole, is the biosynthetic precursor to many natural products such as heme.

Pyrroles are components of more complex macrocycles, including the porphyrinogens and products derived therefrom, including porphyrins of heme, the chlorins, bacteriochlorins, and chlorophylls.

Pyrrole is a colorless volatile liquid that darkens readily upon exposure to air, and is usually purified by distillation immediately before use. Pyrrole has a nutty odor. Pyrrole is a 5-membered aromatic heterocycle, like furan and thiophene. Unlike furan and thiophene, it has a dipole in which the positive end lies on the side of the heteroatom, with a dipole moment of 1.58 D. In CDCl₃, it has chemical shifts at 6.68 (H2, H5) and 6.22 (H3, H4). Pyrrole is an extremely weak base for an amine, with a conjugate acid pK_a of −3.8. The most thermodynamically stable pyrrolium cation (C₄H₆N⁺) is formed by protonation at the 2 position. Substitution of pyrrole with alkyl substituents provides a more basic molecule—for example, tetramethylpyrrole has a conjugate acid pK_a of +3.7. Pyrrole is also weakly acidic at the N–H position, with a pK_a of 16.5. As a hydrogen bonding Lewis acid it is classified as a hard acid and the ECW model lists its acid parameters as E_A = 1.38 and C_A = 0.68.

Pyrrole has aromatic character because the lone pairs of electrons on the nitrogen atom is partially delocalized into the ring, creating a 4n + 2 aromatic system (see Hückel's rule). In terms of its aromaticity, pyrrole's is modest relative to benzene but comparable to related heterocycles thiophene and furan. The resonance energies of benzene, pyrrole, thiophene, and furan are, respectively, 152, 88, 121, and 67 kJ/mol (36, 21, 29, and 16 kcal/mol). The molecule is flat.

Pyrrole was first detected by F. F. Runge in 1834, as a constituent of coal tar. In 1857, it was isolated from the pyrolysate of bone. Its name comes from the Greek pyrrhos (πυρρός, "reddish, fiery"), from the reaction used to detect it—the red color that it imparts to wood when moistened with hydrochloric acid.

Pyrrole itself is not naturally occurring, but many of its derivatives are found in a variety of cofactors and natural products. Common naturally produced molecules containing pyrroles include vitamin B₁₂, bile pigments like bilirubin and biliverdin, and the porphyrins of heme, chlorophyll, chlorins, bacteriochlorins, and porphyrinogens. Other pyrrole-containing secondary metabolites include PQQ, makaluvamine M, ryanodine, rhazinilam, lamellarin, prodigiosin, myrmicarin, and sceptrin. The syntheses of pyrrole-containing haemin, synthesized by Hans Fischer was recognized by the Nobel Prize.

Pyrrole is a constituent of tobacco smoke and may contribute to its toxic effects.

Pyrrole is prepared industrially by treatment of furan with ammonia in the presence of solid acid catalysts, like SiO₂ and Al₂O₃.