古人类学（英语：palaeoanthropology），是古生物学与体质人类学的交叉学科，主要以人类演化为研究内容。

古人类学的研究对象以古人类和古猿类的化石遗骸为主。研究人员在演化理论的指导下，借助体质人类学、比较解剖学的知识和方法，研究古人类及其猿类祖先的体质特征变化，从而分析系统发生关系。此外，古人类制造和使用过的工具和其他遗物，曾与古人类共存的古动植物化石以及古地理、古气候、年代学等领域的资料，也都成为古人类学研究的重要依据和参考。

Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology (from Ancient Greek: παλαιός (palaeos) "old, ancient", ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) "man, human" and the suffix λογία (logia) "study of"), the combination and a sub-discipline of paleontology and physical anthropology is the study of the formation and the development of the specific characteristics of humans (hominization) and the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship lines in the family Hominidae, by means of the study of fossils, such as petrified skeletal remains, bone fragments, footprints and associated evidence, stone tools, artifacts, and settlement localities. As technologies and methods advance, genetics plays an ever increasing role in paleoanthropology, in particular examining and comparing DNA structure as a vital tool of research of the evolutionary kinship lines of related species and genera.