River Forest is a suburban village adjacent to Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 11,717. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The village is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park. There are significant architectural designs located in River Forest such as the Winslow House by Frank Lloyd Wright. River Forest has a railroad station with service to Chicago on Metra's Union Pacific West Line.

The Native American history of the area is closely tied to the Des Plaines River and includes Menominee and Chippewa settlements near what is now the Desplaines Avenue and Roosevelt Road forest preserves of Cook County. The Menominees would eventually be driven out by the Potowatomi Nation in 1810. The Potawatomi were in turn pushed west of the Mississippi by the Treaty of Chicago of 1833.

1831 saw the establishment of a steam sawmill on the east bank of the Des Plaines River. In 1842, the first planked road in what is now Lake Street was created. The community was known as Noyesville at the time. In 1848 the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad completed construction of tracks westward from Chicago, and train service commenced in January 1849.

In the 1850s two families acquired land and drove development in the area. David Thatcher settled in what is now western River Forest and named that part of the community Thatcher. Henry Quick arrived from Harlem, New York and named the eastern part of Noyesville as well as Harlem Avenue after his home town.

River Forest lies along the Des Plaines River to the west and is bordered by Illinois Route 43 to the east and Illinois Route 64 to the north. Along with the Des Plaines River, much of the western boundary of River Forest consists of the Thatcher Woods forest preserve of Cook County and the Des Plaines River Trail. According to the 2010 census, River Forest has a total area of 2.482 square miles (6.43 km²), of which 2.48 square miles (6.42 km²) (or 99.92%) is land and 0.002 square miles (0.01 km²) (or 0.08%) is water.

Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago are both located in River Forest.

There are two public elementary schools, Lincoln Elementary School and Willard Elementary School, and one public middle school, Roosevelt Middle School. The elementary and middle schools are in River Forest Public Schools District 90. River Forest shares a high school with Oak Park, known as Oak Park and River Forest High School, located in Oak Park.

River Forest is home to two Catholic grade schools and one Lutheran grade school. St. Luke School and St. Vincent Ferrer School are Catholic schools, and Grace Lutheran School is Lutheran. All three enroll children from 3 years old through eighth grade. River Forest has one all-girls' secondary school, Trinity High School.