锯木厂是将树木切割为木材的设施。

锯木厂在人类文明的历史悠久。目前可追溯的最早一座锯木厂，建于公元3世纪下半叶的小亚细亚希拉波利斯。该座希拉波利斯锯木厂亦是最早（可考）以活塞连杆及曲柄组成连杆机构的人造机械。考古学家也在杰拉什及以弗所找到以水力推动，没有齿轮列的石建锯木厂。

欧洲在中世纪开始大量应用锯木厂。至于中东、中亚、北非及西班牙的伊斯兰地区，也在11世纪开始使用水力锯木厂。这些锯木厂大多使用简陋坑锯切割。

由于搬运木材需要大量人力，早期的锯木厂多设于河流旁边。锯木工人会在森林上游斩树，然后让木材顺流而下送到锯木厂。加工后的木材又可再沿着河流，以船只运往市镇。自古代至19世纪前夕，锯木所用的刀锯经历了多次改良，但锯木厂整体的运作变化不大。工业革命后，锯木厂开始沿铁路而设，而切割木材也可使用蒸汽机代劳，大幅提升生产效率及成本。20世纪电力逐步普及后，锯木的速度则更上一层楼。

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Prior to the invention of the sawmill, boards were rived (split) and planed, or more often sawn by two men with a whipsaw, one above and another in a saw pit below. The earliest known mechanical mill is the Hierapolis sawmill, a Roman water-powered stone mill at Hierapolis, Asia Minor dating back to the 3rd century AD. Other water-powered mills followed and by the 11th century they were widespread in Islamic Spain and North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and in the next few centuries, spread across Europe. The circular motion of the wheel was converted to a reciprocating motion at the saw blade. Generally, only the saw was powered, and the logs had to be loaded and moved by hand. An early improvement was the development of a movable carriage, also water powered, to move the log steadily through the saw blade.