锦葵科（学名：Malvaceae）是锦葵目的一个科。锦葵科大约有75属，1000－1500种，分布于温带及热带。中国有16属，81种，36变种或变型。

• 草本、灌木或乔木，常有星状毛，有粘液；
• 叶互生，单叶，掌状脉；
• 花常两性，辐射对称，萼片5枚，其下屡有总苞状小苞，花瓣5枚，雄蕊常多数，花丝合成一柱，多少与花瓣基部合生，花药一室，子房上位，二至多室；
• 果实为蒴果，或分离成数个小干果，偶然有肉质果。

The Malvaceae, or the mallows, are a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 243 genera with 4225+ species. Well-known members of this family include okra, cotton, and cacao. The largest genera in terms of number of species include Hibiscus (300 species), Sterculia (250 species), Dombeya (250 species), Pavonia (200 species) and Sida (200 species).<ref name:"Judd">Judd, W. S., C. S. Campbell, E. A. Kellogg, P. F. Stevens and M. J. Donoghue (2008). Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach (third ed.). ISBN 0878934073. </ref>