SMS Ariadne was a steam corvette of the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was the lead ship of the Ariadne class, which included two other ships, Luise and Freya. Ordered as part of a naval expansion program after the Austro-Prussian War, Ariadne was laid down in September 1868, launched in July 1871, and was commissioned in November 1872. Ariadne was a small vessel, armed with a battery of just eight guns.

The Ariadne class was a group of three screw corvettes of the North German Federal Navy and Imperial Navy, built in the 1860s and 1870s. The class comprised three ships: Ariadne, Luise, and Freya. The first two vessels were identical, but Freya was built to a modified design with a longer hull, which allowed her to carry more powerful engines and additional coal for the boilers. The ships were ordered as part of a naval construction program directed at strengthening the North German Federal Navy, though by the time they entered service, all of the German states had united into the German Empire. They were intended to serve on extended cruises abroad, protecting German interests overseas. Their primary armament consisted of six or eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, and they were fitted with full ship rigs to supplement their steam engines on long voyages abroad.