Zacharia Petres dze Paliashvili (Georgian: ზაქარია ფალიაშვილი), also known by his Russian name Zachary Petrovich Paliashvili (Russian: Захарий Петрович Палиашвили; 3 August 1871 – 6 October 1933), was a Georgian composer. Regarded as one of the founders of Georgian classical music, his work is known for its eclectic fusion of folk songs and stories with 19th-century Romantic classical themes. He was the founder of the Georgian Philharmonic Society and later, the head of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire. The Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi was named in his honor in 1937. Notably, Paliashvili's music serves as the basis of the National Anthem of Georgia.

Although Paliashvili has composed works for symphony orchestra (e.g., Georgian Suite on Folk Themes), he is probably best known for his vocal music, which includes operas Abesalom da Eteri (based on a folk tale "Eteriani"), Daisi (Twilight), and Latavra.

Paliashvili was born on 16 August 1871 in Kutaisi in the family of Petre Ivanes dze Paliashvili (1838–1913), an elder at the Kutaisi Georgian Catholic Church, who was said to be a model father and husband. Zacharia's mother was Maria Pavles asuli Mesarkishvili (1851–1916). Zacharia was the third child in a family of eighteen children (thirteen sons and five daughters). Seven children died in infancy. Although Zacharia's parents were not professional musicians, their children remembered their mother's singing.

In his autobiographical notes Zacharia Paliashvili writes: "...in our big family, my beloved brothers and sisters displayed a natural gift of music even in their early age. To my mind the explanation of this should be sought in the fact that we, being catholics attended the church where the sweet sounds of organ music are not only enjoyable but help develop a good ear... we spend much time in the church and gradually developed a good ear.."

The first to display considerable musical abilities was the eldest son Ivane (Vano) Paliashvili (1868–1934) who subsequently became an outstanding conductor. When Vano was eleven years old he was made assistant to the church organist, and the eight-year-old Zacharia was admitted as a chorister to the church choir. With the help of the dean, Father I. Antonishvili, little Zacharia studied "Lullaby for Jesus" and sang it with great success on Christmas night.

The Kutaisi period, however, left a deep impression on the life of the future composer. It was the place of his first contact with music, and the basis of his professional attitude to his life's dedication – music – had developed there, too. All his life Zacharia had retained his youthful love for the relics of Georgia's magnificence, the ruins of the Church of Bagrat (built by Georgia's King Bagrat III in 1003, ruined and plundered by the Turks in 1631), Gelati (1106–1125), one of the most important centres of education, philosophy and literature in medieval Georgia and the extraordinary beauty of his home town. Subsequently, Paliashvili recalled Kutaisi many times, permeated, he said, with a "truly Georgian spirit".

Upon leaving the two-year parish school, brothers Ivan and Zacharia began to play the piano under tutorship of Felix Mizandari, an organist and pianist. Mizandari did not charge the family for the lessons for he was aware that Paliashvili family was of very modest means. Shortly afterwards, people in the town learned of the two talented and exceptionally persevering young musicians.

The news reached father Alfonso Khitarishvili, dean of Tbilisi's Georgian Catholic Church of the Assumption. With the parents' consent Khitarishvili took Ivan and Zacharia Paliashvili to Tbilisi. This was in the spring of 1887. The elder brother was appointed to the post of the organist and Zacharia was made his brother's assistant and a choirboy. A short time after, the entire family of Petre Paliashvili moved to Tbilisi.