木偶戏，又称为木偶剧、傀儡戏、人偶戏、人偶剧，是一种不以真人演出，而以人操控假的傀儡的方式演出的戏剧，有许多种类。

根据出土文物与历史数据显示，傀儡戏是中国历史上最早出现具有表演功能的戏剧。据说古代葬礼中用来殉葬的「俑」，与傀儡戏有直接而深远的关系。《通典》则云：“《窟礌子》作偶人以戏，善歌舞，本丧家乐也。汉末始用之于嘉会。”《乐府杂录》以为起于汉高祖被冒顿围于平城，平城正西是冒顿的阏氏把守，谋臣陈平知阏氏爱忌妒，制造了会动的美人木偶来解围。唐代谢观为此作了《汉以木女解平城围赋》。杜佑《笔麈》中的记载：“傀儡子，汉末使用于嘉会，北齐高纬尤好之”，“今俗悬丝而戏，谓之偶人，以手持其末，出其帏帐之上(外)。”“郭郎”与“鲍老”是傀儡戏史中对傀儡的两个称谓。《后山诗话》载宋杨亿《傀儡诗》：“鲍老当筵笑郭郎，笑他舞袖太郎当，若教鲍老当筵舞，转觉郎当舞袖长。” 《都城纪胜·瓦舍众伎》中提到了4种傀儡：“弄悬丝傀儡（起于陈平六奇解围）、杖头傀儡、水傀儡、肉傀儡（以小儿后生辈为之）。凡傀儡敷演烟粉灵怪故事、铁骑公案之类，其话本或如杂剧，或如崖词，大抵多虚少实，如巨灵神朱姬大仙之类是也。”

Puppetry is a form of theatre/performance that involves the manipulation of puppets–inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of her hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer often speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet, and then synchronizes the movements of the puppet's mouth with this spoken part. The actions, gestures and spoken parts acted out by the puppets are typically used in storytelling. There are many different varieties of puppets, and they are made of a wide range of materials, depending on their form and intended use. They can be extremely complex or very simple in their construction.