Shao Kahn is a character and one of the main antagonists of the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. He is depicted as the emperor of the fictional realm Outworld. Feared for his immense strength, which he complements with a large hammer and knowledge of black magic, Shao Kahn seeks to conquer all of the realms, including Earth. He serves as the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat II (1993), Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) and its updates, and the 2011 reboot, as well as the action-adventure spin-off Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005). An amalgam of Shao Kahn and DC Comics villain Darkseid also appears as the main antagonist and final boss of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008) under the name Dark Kahn. A younger persona known as General Shao appears in Mortal Kombat 1 (2023).

Shao Kahn is one of the most celebrated villains in video games. Noted as a difficult boss, he has received praise for his design, in-game abilities, and mannerisms, particularly his mocking and taunting of players. The character has appeared in various media outside of the games, including as the main villain of the film Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997) and Mortal Kombat II (2026).

Shao Kahn was inspired by the Star Wars villain, Darth Vader, where the audience knew that there was an emperor ruling the universe, but knew nothing else about him, creating a desire in the viewer to want to know more. Tobias had something very similar with Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, and for him that came from the feeling he had as a child when he learned more about what made the Star Wars universe tick in Empire Strikes Back. Tobias wanted gamers to have that same feeling. Kahn's attire for Mortal Kombat II was developed by Mark Runion. Kahn started out unmasked and with large gnashing teeth similar to Baraka, since everyone from Outworld was originally supposed to be of Baraka's race. The idea of all inhabitants of Outworld being Tarkatan was later dropped. His identity has only appeared in Shaolin Monks and Mortal Kombat 11; with the latter revealing an inhuman, but not monstrous, face.

In MKII, Kahn was digitally resized to a taller height to make him tower over the playable characters, and was played by actor and bodybuilder Brian Glynn. Glynn considered Shao Kahn as a positive experience, recalling his time with John Parish (Jax) who recommended him for the role Kahn. During the audition, artist John Tobias requested him to expose his chest which resulted in his quick inclusion in the game as the actor did not have to perform martial arts. Glynn's portrayal of Kahn was popular with the Midway staff to the point they requested his help with other projects. In many official depictions of Shao Kahn made by Midway, he is shown wearing a cape, though he never wore one in his original digitized appearances. Mortal Kombat: Deception was the first time in which he wore the cape in-game. Mortal Kombat sound designer Dan Forden explained that the reason for Kahn not wearing the cape in earlier games, in addition to Kabal not being able to wear a trenchcoat in Mortal Kombat 3, was that loose flowing clothing took up memory.

Shao Kahn originated as an unplayable boss character in MKII. He is fought as a boss (in most cases, the final boss) in most of his appearances, but became a player character for the first time in the home ports of MK3 as an unlockable character. He would also be playable in the home ports of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, the GameCube and PlayStation Portable versions of Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Shao Kahn also appears as a playable character in Mortal Kombat 11 via DLC. In Mortal Kombat (2011), Shao Kahn is once again a non-playable boss. He is also the final boss in the beat 'em up spin-off, Shaolin Monks.

Shao Kahn's special moves consist mainly of powerful shoulder barges, magical projectiles, and attacks with his signature giant maul, the "Wrath Hammer". In some of his appearances as a boss, blocking Kahn's attacks will stun the player. Since his debut, his signature tactic has been taunting players before, during, and after rounds with such statements as "Bow to me!", "Feel the power of Shao Kahn!", and "It's official, you suck!"

Shao Kahn first appears as the final boss of Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3. In the former, he invokes a rematch against Earthrealm and faces them in Mortal Kombat to facilitate an invasion of Earthrealm, only to be defeated and foiled by Liu Kang. In the latter game, Shang Tsung resurrects Queen Sindel so Shao can use her to mount another invasion of Earthrealm. Ignoring the Mortal Kombat's rules, Shao steals billions of souls from Earthrealm to empower himself and merge it with Outworld as well as sends extermination squads to kill Raiden's chosen warriors, only to be defeated by Liu Kang once more.

Shao makes a cameo appearance in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, in which he is seemingly killed by the titular Deadly Alliance. In Mortal Kombat: Deception, in which he appears as a playable character in the GameCube version, it is revealed the Deadly Alliance killed a decoy while the real Shao set out to reclaim his empire from Onaga. In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, in which he also appears as a playable character, he succeeded in defeating Onaga before forming a fragile alliance with him and the Deadly Alliance to defeat Blaze and seize his godlike power.