The barony of Cartsburn in the Baronage of Scotland was created for Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn in 1669, when the lands of Cartsburn in the Parish of Easter Greenock in the Shire of Renfrew were erected in liberam baroniam, as a free barony held of the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. The estate of Cartsburn, also known as Crawfurdsburn, incorporated the lands of Cartsdyke and part of the lands of Easter Greenock Castle. The Barony of Cartsburn is a feudal Barony of Scotland. The seat of the Barony was the House of Cartsburn, built in the 17th century near Greenock, Renfrewshire.

In Scotland, a baron or baroness is the head of a feudal barony, also known as a prescriptive barony. This used to be attached to a particular piece of land on which was situated the caput or essence of the barony, normally a building, such as a castle or manor house. Accordingly, the owner of the piece of land containing the caput was called a baron or baroness. According to Grant, there were around 350 identifiable local baronies in Scotland by the early fifteenth century and these could mostly be mapped against local parish boundaries. The term baron was in general use from the thirteenth century to describe what would have been known in England as a knight of the shire.