观念史（history of ideas）是历史学的一个研究领域，研究人类观念随着时间的演变而表现、保持和变迁的历史，通常被认为是思想史（intellectual history）的姐妹学科，或者是思想史中的特别方法。研究观念史，通常要涉及哲学史、科学史、文学史的跨学科研究。

广义上说，观念史与思想史可以互用概念，但细分而言，观念史和思想史的主要区别在于，观念史类似范畴史或概念史，其主角是观念，而思想史关注的不是观念本身，而是观念与观念持有者更为广阔的生活的外在关系。

历史学家Arthur O. Lovejoy（1873–1962）很早就提出了观念史的概念，并在20世纪早期开始对其进行系统研究。约翰·霍普金斯大学是Lovejoy观念史的“摇篮”，他在1910年至1939年间是该大学的历史学教授，并定期主持“观念史俱乐部”的会议。

The history of ideas is a field of research in history that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history. Work in the history of ideas may involve interdisciplinary research in the history of philosophy, the history of science, or the history of literature. In Sweden, the history of ideas and science (Idé- och lärdomshistoria) has been a distinct university subject since 6 November 1932, when Johan Nordström, a scholar of literature, was appointed professor of the new discipline in a ceremony at Uppsala University (coinciding with that commemorating the 300-year anniversary of the Battle of Lützen). Today, several universities across the world provide courses in this field, usually as part of a graduate programme.