瑞利衰落信道（Rayleigh fading channel）是一种无线电信号传播环境的“统计模型(statistical model)”。这种模型假设信号通过无线信道之后，其信号幅度(amplitude)是随机的，即“衰落(fading)”，并且其包络(envelope)服从瑞利分布（Rayleigh distribution）。

这一信道模型能够描述由电离层和对流层反射的短波信道，以及建筑物密集的城市环境。瑞利衰落只适用于从发射机到接收机不存在直射信号（LoS，Line of Sight）的情况，否则应使用莱斯衰落信道（Rician fading channel）作为信道模型。

Rayleigh fading is a statistical model for the effect of a propagation environment on a radio signal, such as that used by wireless devices.

Rayleigh fading models assume that the magnitude of a signal that has passed through such a transmission medium (also called a communications channel) will vary randomly, or fade, according to a Rayleigh distribution — the radial component of the sum of two uncorrelated Gaussian random variables.