The Battle of Turnhout was a decisive military engagement between Belgian revolutionary and Austrian forces at Turnhout in the Austrian Netherlands. It was the first engagement of the Brabant Revolution and took place shortly after the revolutionary (patriot) army of Jean-André van der Mersch crossed the border from the Dutch Republic where it had previously been in exile. Their unlikely victory in the engagement led to the rapid collapse of Austrian rule across the Southern Netherlands and the temporary withdrawal of Austrian forces in the region to Luxembourg.

Turnhout is a Belgian municipality and city located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. In 2021, its population was 45,874. The total area is 56.06 km2 (21.64 sq mi). The agglomeration is much more populous, with 81,473 inhabitants. It is known for its playing card industry, and houses the head office of the world's largest manufacturer of playing cards, Cartamundi. Turnhout is also the capital of the administrative district with the same name. The city council often promotes the city as "the capital of the Kempen area". This designation is entirely unofficial, since the Kempen area is far larger than the Turnhout district and does not form an administrative unit.