挑战者号科学考察是1872年至1876年期间，使用英国舰队挑战者号实施的一次科学考察活动，它完成了多项发现，为海洋学的创建奠定了基础。

在苏格兰，爱丁堡大学和莫契斯东中学的查尔斯·威维尔·汤姆森的提请下，伦敦皇家学会从英国皇家海军那里获得了英国舰队挑战者号的使用权。他们于1872年将它改进用于科学工作，并为它装备了独立的自然史和化学实验室。

由乔治·奈尔斯指挥的挑战者号，于1872年12月21日从英国的朴茨茅斯启程。 由汤姆森亲自负责科学监督，该船为进行测量和探索行进了近七万海里。考察的结果被收入《1873~1876年间英国舰队挑战者号进行探索性航海科学结论的报告》，列出了超过4000种先前未知的物种。管理这次出版发行的海洋学家——约翰·默里把这次报告描述为“自十五、十六世纪的著名发现后，对我们星球的了解上最伟大的进步”。

The Challenger expedition of 1872–76 was a scientific exercise that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the mother vessel, HMS Challenger.

Prompted by Charles Wyville Thomson—of the University of Edinburgh and Merchiston Castle School—the Royal Society of London obtained the use of Challenger from the Royal Navy and in 1872 modified the ship for scientific work, equipping her with separate laboratories for natural history and chemistry. The expedition, led by Captain George Nares, sailed from Portsmouth, England, on 21 December 1872. Other naval officers included Commander John Maclear. Under the scientific supervision of Thomson himself, she traveled nearly 70,000 nautical miles (130,000 km) surveying and exploring. The result was the Report Of The Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76 which, among many other discoveries, cataloged over 4,000 previously unknown species. John Murray, who supervised the publication, described the report as "the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries". Challenger sailed close to Antarctica, but not within sight of it.