The Cinémathèque suisse (Swiss Cinematheque), formerly the Archives cinématographiques suisses (Swiss Film Archive), is a Swiss state-approved non-profit foundation headquartered in Lausanne. It aims to collect, protect, study and present film archives. The Swiss Cinematheque has its archives in Penthaz and a branch office in Zürich.

With the support of the Kunstmuseum Basel, a group of admirers of independent films founded the Archives cinématographiques suisses (Swiss Film Archive) in Basel in 1943.

Subsequently, the Association cinémathèque suisse (Swiss Cinematheque Association) was created. The archives were transferred to Lausanne to the Cinémathèque suisse (Swiss Cinematheque), co-founded by Freddy Buache in 1948 and inaugurated by Erich von Stroheim in 1950. In precarious condition, the Swiss Cinematheque was located on Place de la Cathédrale [fr] in Lausanne. At the time, it had no projection room.

The Swiss Cinematheque was one of the first members of the International Federation of Film Archives.

Claude Emery was the Swiss Cinematheque's first director until Buache held this position from 1951 to 1996.

In 1981, the Cinematheque acquired and moved to the former Casino of Montbenon in Lausanne to establish itself in a better environment.

In 1992, the Swiss Cinematheque began to store archives in a Penthaz building.

The Swiss Cinematheque has been considered "one of the ten most important cinematheques in the world" by the International Federation of Film Archives.