Walkden is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, six miles (ten kilometres) northwest of central Salford, and seven miles (eleven kilometres) of Manchester.

Walkden has been designated as one of seven main town centres in the City of Salford, and now largely functions as a retail centre and commuter suburb of Greater Manchester.

Historically in the township of Worsley in Lancashire, Walkden was a centre for coal mining and textile manufacture.

In 2021, the electoral wards of Walkden North, Walkden South and Little Hulton had a combined population of 39,761.

The name Walkden or Walkeden derives from the Old English denu, a valley, belonging to a man possibly called Wealca (fuller), an Old English personal name. It has been in existence since at least the 13th century. The name was recorded in documents dating to 1246.

A Roman road crossed the area roughly on the line of the present A6 road through Walkden and Little Hulton. In 1313, in a dispute involving land, a jury decided that Walkden was too small to be considered a hamlet or a town but was "only a place in Farnworth".

In the 15th century Walkden appears to have covered a wider area than at present, spreading into Farnworth and Little Hulton.

In 1765 "Walkden Moor" was the subject of a parliamentary inclosure act (5 Geo. 3. c. 60 Pr.). The Duke of Bridgewater was the biggest landowner in 1786, owning over half the land. At one time Walkden was dominated by coal mines and textile manufacturing.