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The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) is an omnivorous mammal of the order carnivora, distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It weighs between 100–700 kg (220-1,500 pounds) and its larger populations such as the Kodiak bear match the Polar bear as the largest extant land carnivores. While the brown bear's range has shrunk, and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a least concern species with a total population of approximately 200,000. Its principal range countries are Russia, the United States (especially Alaska), and Canada, and Finland where it is the national animal.

The species primarily feeds on vegetable matter, including roots and fungi. Fish are a primary source of meat, and it will also kill small mammals on land. Larger mammals, such as deer, are taken only occasionally. Adult brown bears face no serious competition from other predators and can match wolf packs and large felines, often driving them off their kills.

It is sometimes referred to as the bruin, from Middle English, based on the name of the bear in History of Reynard the Fox, translated by William Caxton, from Middle Dutch bruun or bruyn.

Brown bears have furry coats in shades of blonde, brown, black, or a combination of those colors. The longer outer guard hairs of the brown bear are often tipped with white or silver, giving a "grizzled" appearance. Their tail is 4-5 inches (10-13 cm) long. Like all bears, brown bears are plantigrades and can stand up on their hind legs for extended periods of time. Brown bears have a large hump of muscle over their shoulders which distinguishes them from other species. The forearms end in massive paws with claws up to 15 cm (6 inches) in length which are mainly used for digging. Brown bear claws are not retractable, and have relatively blunt points. Their heads are large and round with a concave facial profile, a characteristic used to distinguish them from other bears. Males are 38-50% larger than females. The normal range of physical dimensions for a brown bear is a head-and-body length of 1.7 to 2.8 m (5.6 to 9.2 feet) and a shoulder height 90 to 150 cm (35 to 60 inches). The smallest subspecies is the Eurasian Brown Bear with mature females weighing as little as 90 kg (200 lb). Barely larger, Grizzly Bears from the Yukon region (which are a third smaller than most grizzlies) can weigh as little as 100 kg (220 lb) in the spring and the Syrian Brown Bear, with mature females weighing as little as 150 kg (331 lb). The largest subspecies of the brown bear are the Kodiak bear, Siberian Brown Bear, and the bears from coastal Russia and Alaska. It is not unusual for large male Kodiak Bears to stand over 3 m (10 feet) while on their hind legs and to weigh about 680 kg (1,500 lb). The largest wild Kodiak bear on record weighed over 1,100 kilograms (2,500 pounds). Bears raised in zoos are often heavier than wild bears because of regular feeding and limited movement. In zoos, bears may weigh up to 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds), one example being "Goliath" from New Jersey's Space Farms Zoo and Museum. Size seems related to food availability, with subspecies distinctions being more related to nutrition rather than geographical location. In spite of their size, some brown bears have been clocked at speeds in excess of 56 km/h (35 mph).

There are about 200,000 brown bears in the world. The largest populations are in Russia, with 120,000, the United States with 32,500, and Canada with 21,750. 95% of the brown bear population in the United States is in Alaska, though in the West they are repopulating slowly but steadily along the Rockies and plains. Although many hold on to the belief that some brown bears may be present in Mexico and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, both are almost certainly extinct. The last Mexican brown bear was shot in 1960. In Europe, there are 14,000 brown bears in ten separate fragmented populations, from Spain in the west, to Russia in the east, and from Scandinavia in the north to Romania and Bulgaria in the south. They are extinct in the British Isles, extremely threatened in France and Spain, and in trouble over most of Central Europe. The brown bear is Finland's national animal. The Carpathian brown bear population is the largest in Europe outside Russia, estimated at 4,500 to 5,000 bears.

Brown bears were once native to Asia, the Atlas Mountains in Africa, Europe and North America, but are now extinct in some areas and their populations have greatly decreased in other areas. They prefer semi-open country, usually in mountainous areas.

The brown bear is primarily nocturnal and, in the summer, puts on up to 180 kg (400 pounds) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Although they are not full hibernators, and can be woken easily, both sexes like to den in a protected spot such as a cave, crevice, or hollow log during the winter months. Brown bear are mostly solitary, although they may gather in large numbers at major food sources and form social hierarchies based on age and size.