The European golden plover, also known as the European golden-plover, Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers: the American golden plover, Pluvialis dominica, and Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva, which are both smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European golden plover, and both have grey rather than white axillary feathers.

Plovers are members of a widely distributed group of wading birds of family Charadriidae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the family, though only about half of them include it in their name.