In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Arda.

According to the author, Hobbits are a "variety" or separate "branch" of the race of Men (Homo sapiens), but they consider themselves a separate race. They live in the Shire and in Bree in northwestern Middle-earth. They are very clean folk even though they live in holes and wear no shoes.

Hobbits first appear in the book The Hobbit, and also play a major role in The Lord of the Rings. They are briefly mentioned in The Silmarillion.

J.R.R. Tolkien states in a letter that he created the Hobbit in the 1930's to amuse his children, using Middle Earth as a convenient backdrop.